A consistent finding within criminology is the large sex gap in offending. Although research has examined this phenomenon extensively, the sex gap is still largely unexplained. This study proposes the sex gap in offending can be better understood through exploring the relationship between self-control and gender identity. Using data collected as part of the Tucson Youth Project, this study found gender identity was a crucial link between sex, self-control, and involvement in deviant behavior. Specifically, femininity was associated with greater self-control, and both these variables predicted deviance, even when controlling for sex. In contrast, masculinity had no effect on deviant behavior.
Auster, C.J., & Ohm, S.C. ( 2000). Masculinity and femininity in contemporary American society: A reevaluation using the Bem Sex-Role Inventory. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 43, 499-528.
2.
Ballard-Reisch, D., & Elton, M. ( 1992). Gender orientation and the Bem Sex Role Inventory: A psychological construct revisited. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 27, 291-306.
3.
Bem, S.L. ( 1974). The measurement of psychological androgyny. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42, 155-162.
4.
Bem, S.L. ( 1981). The BSRI and gender schema theory: A reply to Spence and Helmreich. Psychological Review, 88, 369-371.
5.
Bentler, P.M. ( 1990). Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 238-246.
6.
Bernard, J. ( 1989). The good-provider role: Its rise and fall. In A. Skolnick & J. Skolnick (Eds.), Family in transition (6th ed.). Boston: Scott Forseman .
7.
Bollen, K.A. ( 1986). Sample size and Bentler and Bonett’s Nonnormed Fit Index. Psychometrika, 51, 375-377.
8.
Bollen, K.A. ( 1989). Structural equations with latent variables. New York: Wiley.
9.
Broverman, I.K., Broverman, D.M., Clarkson, F.E., Rosenkrantz, P.S., & Vogel, S.R. ( 1970). Sex-role stereotypes and clinical judgments of mental health. Journal of Clinical and Counseling Psychology, 34, 1-7.
10.
Burt, C.H., Simons, R.L., & Simons, L.G. ( 2006). A longitudinal test of the effects of parenting and the stability of self-control: Negative evidence for the general theory of crime . Criminology, 44, 353-396.
11.
Campbell, T., Gillaspy, J., & Thompson, B. ( 1997). The factor structure of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI): Confirmatory factor analysis of long and short forms. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 57, 118-124.
12.
Chapple, C.L., & Johnson, K.A. ( 2007). Gender differences in impulsivity. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 5, 221-234.
Costos, D. ( 1990). Gender role identity from an ego developmental perspective . Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 22, 723-741.
15.
Flere, S., & Lavric, M. ( 2008). On the validity of cross-cultural social studies using student samples. Field Methods, 20, 399-412.
16.
Gerson, K. ( 1985). Hard choices: How women decide about work, career, and motherhood. Cambridge, UK: Harvard University Press.
17.
Gibbs, J.J., & Giever, D. ( 1995). Self-control and its manifestations among university students: An empirical test of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory . Justice Quarterly, 12, 231-255.
18.
Gilligan, C. ( 1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women’s development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
19.
Gottfredson, M., & Hirschi, T. ( 1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
20.
Grasmick, H.G., Tittle, C.R., Bursik, R.J.J., & Arneklev, B.J. (1993). Testing the core empirical implications of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 30(1), 5-29.
21.
Hagan, John, A.R. Gillis, and John Simpson.1985. "The Class Structure of Gender and Delinquency: Toward a Power-Control Theory of Common Delinquent Behavior." American Journal of Sociology90:1151-1178.
22.
Haigler, V.F., Day, H.D., & Marshall, D.D. (1995). Parental attachment and gender-role identity. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 33, 203-220.
23.
Hay, C. ( 2001). Parenting, self-control, and delinquency: A test of self-control theory. Criminology, 39, 707-736.
24.
Holt, C., & Ellis, J. ( 1998). Assessing the current validity of the Bem Sex-Role Inventory . Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 17, 241-400.
25.
Horwitz, A.V., & White, H.R. ( 1987). Gender role orientations and styles of pathology among adolescents. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 28, 158-170.
26.
Hu, L.-T., & Bentler, P.M. ( 1995). Evaluating model fit. In R. H. Hoyle (Ed.), Structural equation modeling: Concepts, issues, and applications (pp. 76-99). London: Sage.
27.
Hu, L.-T., & Bentler, P.M. ( 1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 391-410.
28.
Lara-Cantu, M.A. ( 1989). A sex role inventory with scales for "machismo" and "self-sacrificing woman." Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 20, 386-398.
29.
Laub, J., & Sampson, R.J. ( 1988). Unraveling families and delinquency: A reanalysis of the Gluecks’ data. Criminology, 26, 355-380.
30.
Mannarino, A.P., & Marsh, M.E. ( 1978). The relationship between sex role identification and juvenile delinquency in adolescent girls. Adolescence, 13, 643-652.
31.
Mason, W.A., & Windle, M. ( 2002). Gender, self-control, and informal social control in adolescence: A test of three models of the continuity of delinquency behavior . Youth & Society, 33, 479-514.
32.
Messerschmidt, J.W. ( 1993). Masculinities and crime: Critique and reconceptualization of theory. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
33.
Messerschmidt, J.W. ( 1997). Crime as structured action: Gender, race, class, and crime in the making. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
34.
Messerschmidt, J.W. ( 1999). Making bodies matter: Adolescent masculinities, the body, and varieties of violence. Theoretical Criminology, 3, 197-220.
35.
Messerschmidt, J.W. ( 2000). Becoming "real men" adolescent masculinity challenges and sexual violence. Men and Masculinities, 2, 286-307.
36.
Miller, J. ( 2002). The strengths and limits of "doing gender" for understanding street crime. Theoretical Criminology, 6, 433-460.
37.
Miller, S.L., & Burack, C. ( 1993). A critique of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime: Selective (in)attention to gender and power positions. Women & Criminal Justice, 4(2), 115-134.
38.
Naffin, N. ( 1985). The masculinity-femininity hypothesis: A consideration of gender-based personality theories of female crime. British Journal of Criminology, 25, 365-381.
39.
Nofziger, S. ( 2001). Bullies, fights, and guns: Testing self-control theory with juveniles. New York: LFB Scholarly .
40.
Nofziger, S. ( 2008). The "cause" of low self-control: The influence of maternal self-control. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency , 45, 191-224.
41.
Ozbay, O. ( 2008). Self-control, gender and deviance among Turkish university students. Journal of Criminal Justice, 36, 72-80.
42.
Payne, B.K., & Chappell, A. ( 2008). Using student samples in criminological research. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 19, 175-192.
43.
Piquero, A.R., MacDonald, J., Dobrin, A., Daigle, L.E., & Cullen, F.T. ( 2005). Self-control, violent offending, and homicide victimization: Assessing the general theory of crime. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 21(1), 55-71.
44.
Pratt, T.C., & Cullen, F.T. ( 2000). The empirical status of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime: A meta-analysis. Criminology, 38, 931-964.
45.
Spence, J.T. ( 1993). Gender-related traits and gender ideology: Evidence for a multifactorial theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 624-635.
46.
Spence, J.T., & Buckner, C.E. ( 2000). Instrumental and expressive traits, trait stereotypes, and sexist attitudes: What do they signify. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 24(1), 44-63.
47.
Spence, J.T., & Helmreich, R. ( 1980). Masculine instrumentality and feminine expressiveness: Their relationships with sex role attitudes and behaviors. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 5, 147-163.
48.
Tittle, C.R., Ward, D.A., & Grasmick, H.G. (2003). Gender, age, and crime/deviance: A challenge to self-control theory. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 40, 426-453.
49.
Twenge, J.M. ( 1997). Changes in masculine and feminine traits over time: A meta-analysis. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 36, 305-325.
50.
Vazsonyi, A.T., & Crosswhite, J.M. (2004). A test of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime in AfricanAmerican adolescents. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 41, 407-432.
51.
Vazsonyi, A.T., Pickering, L.E., Junger, M., & Hessing, D. ( 2001). An empirical test of a general theory of crime: A four-nation comparative study of self-control as the prediction of deviance. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 38(2), 91-131.
52.
Vazsonyi, A.T., Wittekind, J.E.C., Belliston, L.M., & Van Loh, T.D. (2004). Extending the general theory of crime to "the East:" Low self-control in Japanese late adolescents. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 20, 189-216.
Wong, F., McCreary, D.R., & Duffy, K.G. ( 1990). A further validation of the Bem Sex Role Inventory: A multitrait-multimethod study. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research , 22, 249-260.
