Does the Gender Gap in Delinquency Vary by Level of Patriarchy? A Cross‐national Comparative Analysis

Abstract

We examined cross‐national variation in the gender differential in offending, which is often referred to as the gender gap in crime. Analyses were directed toward two empirical questions: 1) Is the gender gap narrower in less patriarchal sociocultural settings, and if so, 2) is this outcome a result of higher levels of offending on the part of girls, lower levels of offending on the part of boys, or some combination thereof? To address these questions, we compiled a multilevel, cross‐national data set combining information on self‐reported offending from the second International Self Report Delinquency Survey (ISRD‐2) with normative and structural indicators of societal levels of patriarchy. The results from regression equations showed the gender gap in delinquency to be narrower at reduced national levels of patriarchy. The predicted probabilities calculated from regression coefficients suggested that this narrowing is a result of increased offending among girls and, to some extent, of decreased offending among boys in less patriarchal nations. Sensitivity checks with alternative model specifications confirmed these patterns but also identified a potential outlier. We discuss the implications of these descriptive findings for etiological research and theory.

The Role of Parental Maltreatment and Parental Social Control on Self-Reported Violent Offending in Indonesia and the U.S.: Does Gender Make a Difference?

“…We focus on how parental social control is transformed into different levels of self-control among females and males and subsequently, into different rates of delinquency [51]. While studies analyzing the role of child-parent interactions on delinquency have typically used data from a national sample, few studies have examined differences in offending across countries [21,64]. The Savolainen et al study [64] used multi-level data from the International Self-Report Delinquency Survey (ISRD2) to examine the cross-national variation in gender gap in crime and found that the gender gap in delinquent offending is narrower when there are lower levels of patriarchy in a country.…”

“…While studies analyzing the role of child-parent interactions on delinquency have typically used data from a national sample, few studies have examined differences in offending across countries [21,64]. The Savolainen et al study [64] used multi-level data from the International Self-Report Delinquency Survey (ISRD2) to examine the cross-national variation in gender gap in crime and found that the gender gap in delinquent offending is narrower when there are lower levels of patriarchy in a country. Generally, patriarchy can be understood as a system where relations between men and women are perceived as "hierarchical relations of superiority and inferiority" [65] (p. 3).…”

“…Like Savolainen et al [64], we draw on power-control theory to examine the associations between parental social control, gender and violent delinquency. Power-control theory assumes that patriarchy is important in identifying the intersection of class with family relations [54] because patriarchal power relations differentially affect the involvement of males and females in crimes [66].…”

“…At the individual-level, males and females respond differently to adults depending on the positions that adults occupy in their lives [68]. At the cross-national level, a patriarchal environment moderates the relationship between gender and delinquency where a higher degree of patriarchy is associated with larger gender gaps in delinquent offending [64]. Therefore, we replace the class component in power-control theory with country.…”

“…Within Indonesia's collectivist environment, parent-child relationships are also dictated by religious values where a parent's religiosity is positively associated with their child's religiosity and religiosity serves as a moral deterrent [97]. While cultural shifts can significantly reduce offending among males [64], there are some underlying mechanisms that explain the role of patriarchy in contributing to higher offending among males [98]. For instance, a study in Indonesia found that males are more likely to have committed acts of delinquency than females whereas females are more likely to be truant/run away from home when they experience problems with parental control [99].…”