Aggression: Gender Differences in

Abstract

Increasingly, researchers are turning their attention to the issue of aggression and violence perpetrated by girls and women. This reflects mounting evidence from several related fields of research including: criminal justice, corrections, forensic psychology and psychiatry, domestic violence, child and elder abuse, and delinquency and juvenile justice. Together, this research supports several broad conclusions: (i) the assumption of female nonviolence is untenable; (ii) rates of female‐perpetrated aggression are escalating; (iii) aggression by females often has serious negative implications for victims; and (iv) there is insufficient research of risk and protective factors, developmental trajectories, and clinical programs to prevent and reduce female aggression. In this paper, we report the prevalence and incidence of aggression among females; document sex differences and similarities in aggressive and violent behavior; and examine sex‐specific versus common risk factors. We conclude with clinical implications for prevention and intervention and reflect on gaps in knowledge and directions for future research.

Female offenders.

“…Male violence is most often perpetrated against acquaintances (46%), and tends to cause greater harm to victims than female-perpetrated offenses ( Denno, 1994 ;Nicholls, Greaves, & Moretti, 2008 ;Statistics Canada, 2011;U.S. Department of Justice, 2010 ).…”

“…Female offenders represent the fastest growing population of inmates worldwide, yet they remain a subgroup for whom we have limited theoretical development and empirical evidence. An enhanced understanding of female offending is important given that data across international borders suggest that the growth rate in the number of individuals in prisons and jails is substantially higher among women than among men ( Nicholls et al, 2008 ). For instance, the proportion of Canadian women charged with criminal offenses has increased steadily over the past three decades, up from 15% in 1979to 21% in 2009( Hotton Mahoney, 2009.…”

“…Taken together, research to date largely demonstrates that women offenders' needs are similar but distinct from those of male offenders ( de Vogel et al, 2012 ;Nicholls et al, 2008 ). Even when gender differences are evident there is often considerable overlap, but policymakers and treatment providers will need to be attentive to the nuances of how these variables are refl ected in treatment needs.…”

Personality Traits and Aggressive Behavior in Vietnamese Adolescents

“…44 Several studies have yielded results that contradict the findings of most previous studies, which suggested that men are more aggressive than women. [48][49][50] In addition, some reports indicated that there was no significant difference between male and female aggressiveness in certain situations. [51][52][53] According to Frodi, Macaulay, and Thome, 54 women may behave aggressively on par with men when aggressiveness is viewed as justified or prosocial and when these other elements are under control.…”