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Male Dominance and Female Criminality: A Test of Harris's Theory of Deviant Type‐Scripts
Author(s) -
Best Joel,
Luckenbill David F.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
sociological inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.446
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1475-682X
pISSN - 0038-0245
DOI - 10.1111/soin.1990.60.1.71
Subject(s) - deviance (statistics) , dominance (genetics) , imprisonment , scripting language , sociology , psychology , criminology , social psychology , statistics , mathematics , biology , computer science , biochemistry , gene , operating system
Harris's theory of deviant type‐scripts predicts higher female participation in deviance when male dominance is low. This paper offers two tests of the theory. Arrest statistics show the proportion of homicides committed by females is higher in states with high male dominance, while imprisonment statistics reveal no relationship between male dominance and the sex ratio of inmates. The discussion suggests that there may be multiple type‐scripts for different forms of deviance.