Gender Influences on Criminal Behavior

Several studies focus on gender differences of criminals to determine the characteristics affecting criminal behavior. Because of the high rate of males being imprisoned, most researchers believe that gender plays a major role in criminal behavior. Various aspects -- psychological, biological and social -- are studied by scientists to determine this correlation.

Statistics on Male and Female Criminals

According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, there are about 14 times more male prisoners than women. The same study reports that, as of December 2009, only about 7 percent of the entire prison population is comprised of women. The same pattern occurs in the United Kingdom, confirmed by a study by the Office of the National Statistics in 2008 that reported that about 80 percent of criminal acts were perpetrated by males. Because of this large margin, researchers believe that gender may indeed have an extensive influence on criminal acts.

Social Constructs

Our social structure plays a major part in why gender has an influence on criminal behavior. Human societies usually place males "in charge." This role as the decision-maker and "man of the house" puts males in a position to either shape up or be left behind. Because of this social role, males tend to be more competitive and more easily provoked when their social roles are in jeopardy.

On the other hand, women's social roles tend to be less defined. Because men often live in societies that expect them to stand strong and become leaders, many of them embrace the fact that they cannot be effective unless they become the "alpha male," or the leader of the pack. Most women, however, face no such pressure.

Reproductive Aspects

Satoshi Kanazawa, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of London, provides a more psychological approach on why gender has some influence on criminal behaviors. In natural evolution, it can be seen that men who are wealthy, strong and capable tend to have greater "reproductive access" to women. As Kanazawa suggests, "This competition among men leads to a high level of violence (murder, assault and battery) among them. The large number of homicides between men (compared to the number of homicides between women, or between the sexes) is a direct consequence of this male competition for mates."

Genetic Influences

Although still a controversial theory, some researchers relate the difference between the biological constructs of males and females to criminal behavior. For example, some scientists believe that "by nature" men are more aggressive and violent than women because of high levels of testosterone, also known as the male hormone. Testosterone helps develop the physical and biological aspects of a male's sexual functionality: muscles grow, sexual organs enlarge and sexual drive increases. The female body also produces testosterone, but in only a fraction of what males produce. Females have a dominant hormone known as estrogen, which is believed to be in part responsible for why most women are more emotional than males, rather than being aggressive.

References

• Kelta Advanced Learning: Crime and Gender
• Bureau of Justice Statistics: Prison Inmate Characteristics
• Office for National Statistics: Crime
• Journal of Research in Crime & Delinquency: "Explaining the Gender Gap in Delinquency: Peer Influence and Moral Evaluations of Behavior"; Daniel P. Mears, Matthew Ploeger and Mark Warr; February 2011
• Personality Research: "Genetic and Environmental Influences on Criminal Behavior"; Caitlin M. Jones; February 2005