Homicide,Sex Role Differences and Role Relationships

Abstract

This study, based upon Palmer's theory of role unreciprocity and other directed violence, investigates similarities and differences between male and female homicide offenders, as well as between murderers and non-aggressive property offenders. Role unreciprocity refers to blockage an individual experiences in the performance of social roles. Two hypotheses are tested: (1) as individual's lives tend to be characterized by situations of high unreciprocity, the likelihood of homicide increases; and (2) both male and female homicide offenders tend to experience similar degrees of unreciprocity. The findings support the first hypothesis and provide qualified support for the second hypothesis. High degrees of role unreciprocity are positively associated with female homicides in the childhood, marital and parental roles, while similarly high degrees of unreciprocity are positively associated with male homicide in roles of student and employee. Palmer's theoretical formulation is given empirical support and specification.