A Person-Centered, Theoretically-Informed Analysis of Gender Differences in Aggression

Abstract

The “gender gap” in offending is largest for violent crime types, and many theoretical perspectives have attempted to account for this gap. The current study provides unique insight into these issues by using a sample of men and women in prison to examine and explain intentions to be aggressive in response to a hypothetical scenario. Results show that similar factors (e.g., low self-control, prior aggression) predict aggressive responses to a hypothetical scenario for both men and women, but some evidence also emerged that different factors account for men’s and women’s behavior (e.g., education, family attachment).