Expanding our lens: Female pathways to antisocial behavior in adolescence and adulthood

Abstract

Women and girls’ engagement in antisocial behavior represents a psychological issue of great concern given the radiating impact that women’s antisociality can have on individuals, families, and communities. Despite its importance and relevance for psychological science, this topic has received limited attention to date and no systematic review of risk factors exists. The present paper aims to systematically review the empirical literature informing risk factors relevant to women’s antisocial behavior, with a focus on adolescence and adulthood. Primary aims are to 1) review empirical literatures on risk factors for female antisocial behavior across multiple levels of influence (e.g., person-level characteristics, risky family factors, and gender-salient contexts) and fields of study (e.g., psychology, sociology); 2) evaluate the relevance of each factor for female antisocial behavior; and 3) incorporate an analysis of how gender at both the individual and ecological level shapes pathways to antisocial behavior in women and girls. We conclude that women’s antisocial behavior is best-understood as being influenced by person-level or individual vulnerabilities, risky family factors, and exposure to gender-salient interpersonal contexts, and underscore the importance of examining women’s antisocial behavior through an expanded lens that views gender as an individual level attribute as well as a social category that organizes the social context in ways that may promote engagement in antisocial behavior. Based on the present systematic review, an integrative pathway model is proposed toward the goal of synthesizing current knowledge and generating testable hypotheses for future research.

Risking it for Love: Romantic Relationships and Early Pubertal Development Confer Risk for Later Disruptive Behavior Disorders in African-American Girls Receiving Psychiatric Care

“…For instance, peers are important for adolescent development and risk-taking and increase in influence (e.g., on adolescent decision making) over the course of adolescence (e.g., Segalowitz et al, 2012; Steinberg, 2007). Similarly, romantic partnerships can promote lower-level risk-taking behaviors at early stages (e.g., truancy) that can lead to higher-level risk-taking (e.g., running away; assault in the context of relationships; Javdani, Sadeh, & Verona, 2011). Though research has examined both peer and partner influences on girls’ and boys’ DBP, few studies have examined their effects in the context of a holistic model incorporating both relational contexts.…”

“…Importantly, parenting relationships are an oft-investigated relational risk factor. Though review studies suggest that parenting is, on average, more strongly predictive of younger boys’ DBP (Javdani et al, 2011), it remains and important risk factor and has been associated with girls’ DBP in recent studies (e.g., Kroneman, Hipwell, Loeber, Koot, & Pardini, 2011). Examining parenting effects is beyond the scope of the current study, which is limited to relational influences outside the home.…”

“…Romantic relationship dynamics (e.g., regarding negotiating decisions around sex) may be particularly important for African American girls given greater social and economic disadvantage, and are associated with girls’ use of violence, a type of DBP (Miller, 2008). These processes have been highlighted by ethnographic research (e.g., Miller, 2008), but quantitative research to date has not distinguished between what aspects of romantic relationships are particularly risky and has instead has relied on whether or not girls’ report any dating experiences (e.g., see Javdani et al, 2011). …”

“…Early pubertal development is related to having older sexual partners and higher rates of teenage pregnancy (Magnusson, Stattin, & Allen, 1986; Manlove, 1997; Moffitt et al, 2001), because sexually mature girls are more likely to seek out, and be sought out for, romantic partnerships (Javdani et al, 2011). Hence, pubertal development may moderate the link between romantic relationships and DBP, but few studies directly investigate this question.…”

Teachers' Ratings of Childhood Behaviours Predict Adolescent and Adult Crime among 3016 Males and Females

“…Rating a wide range of behaviours not only had the advantage of identifying antecedents of the subtypes of offenders derived primarily from studies of males, but also would, we hypothesized, identify antecedents of offending in females. 31,32 Aggressive behaviour is highly stable across the lifespan among both males and females. 29 Previous research has documented elevated rates of relational aggression among girls, 33,34 and also among boys with high levels of callousness.…”