청소년 비행의 성차분석

Gender and Delinquence in Korea : With a Application of General Theory

The gender gap in deviance and crime is one of the debated issue in criminology. According to 'general theories' such as self-control theory, general strain theory, general learning theory, gender-gap of delinquency and crime can explain through deferences in their criminality(i. e., low self-control and high strain). But several scholars has criticize the issue that general theories are not able to account for female crime, and suggest the need for gender- or sex-specific theories. The purpose of this study is to empirically analyze the ability of 'general theory' to account for the 'gender gap' in delinquence and to explain for variations in delinquent behavior within gender groups. The data that we have analysed here were obtained from a self-reported survey conducted in Seoul in July, 2009. The sample consists of a total of 911 elementary school students aged between 10 and 12. In this study, we found that the relationship of gender to delinquence is significant when self-control, attachment, supervision, strain, and differential association with delinquent friends is controled into the analysis. Further, we tried to analyze males and females separately. Variables measuring self-control, supervision, and differential association with delinquent friends are related to males' delinquence, whereas strain to educational achievement and differential association with delinquent friends are strongly related for female's. And we wish this study to contribute to the understand and explanation of the relationship between gender gap in juvenile delinquence in our society. From our study, it is implied that future research should attempt to develop a more considerable model and the measures on the major concepts and analysis methods on these issue