Experience of Parental Violence, and Attitudes and Emotions Regarding use of Violence among a Cross-national Sample of 12-16 Year Olds: Does Gender Make a Difference?

• In Event: The Cycle of Violence Through an International Lens: Insights from the International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD3)

Abstract

This paper builds on the literature regarding the link between youth’s exposure to violence and their own violent attitudes and behavior, and the debate on gender differences in violent predispositions. Using 62, 360 questionnaires from 12-16 year olds in 27 countries collected by the International Self-Report Delinquency study (ISRD3), the paper first tests the relationship between the respondents’ exposure to parental violence and (1) wrongness of hitting another person; and (2) sense of shaming if parents, teachers, or friends were to find out that one has assaulted somebody. It is expected that youth who have been exposed to parental violence will see hitting other people as less wrong and will feel less shame about assaulting others than their counterparts with less or no exposure to parental violence. Second, the paper explores the impact of gender on the relationship between exposure to parental violence and attitude and emotions related to violence. Third, the paper explores the hypothesis that gender differences in the impact of parental maltreatment may be evidenced in higher (violent) delinquent behavior among males (who have experienced parental maltreatment), and higher levels of victimization (assault) among females (who have experienced parental maltreatment). Implications for criminological theory are discussed.

Authors

• Christopher E. Marshall, University of Nebraska, Omaha

• Ineke Haen Marshall, Northeastern University

• Stuti Subbaiah Kokkalera, Northeastern University