Gender differences in young people’s crime involvement: A cross-national comparison of the UK and Sweden

• In Event: Social Contexts and Differential Expression of Crime Propensities in Relation to Gender, Adjudication, Problematic Substance Use, and Political Extremism

Abstract

This paper examines gender differences in young people’s crime involvement by testing the core propositions of Situational Action Theory (SAT) in the UK and Sweden. Using data from the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study (PADS+) and the Malmö Individual and Neighbourhood Development Study (MINDS) we explore cross-national differences in crime propensity and exposure to criminogenic settings and the extent to which these can explain gender differences in crime involvement. Data from two waves of data collection (age 15 and age 16) are used. Findings show gender differences in crime involvement across both countries with lower levels of crime involvement among females. However, the differences in crime involvement between females and males appear to be greater in the UK than in Sweden. These findings are discussed in relation to differences in exposure and propensity.

Authors

• Anna-Karin Ivert, Malmö University

• Marie Torstensson Levander, Malmö University

• Per-Olof Wikström, University of Cambridge