Causes of Male Violence

Term Paper # 100373

Criminology
Gender and Sexuality > Gender Studies

An analysis of the theories that explain why men, as a whole, are more violent than women.

1,643 words () | 11 sources | MLA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses theories as to the causes of male violence. The paper defines various acts of violence and compares the statistics for violent acts with those available for women. It looks at the psychological and social factors that influence violence in men, as well as the social and economic factors that may impact male violence. Finally, the paper discusses the biological reasons for explaining why men are more violent than women, as a whole.

From the Paper:

"In conclusion, we have seen that men perpetrate far more acts of violence than do women. Some theorists attribute this to biological differences, such as the impact of the hormone testosterone. Others emphasize sociological factors, such as the nature of the society, socialization and social expectations, belief systems about relationships between the genders, poverty levels, and levels of egalitarianism in the society. In essence, the difficulty between deciding whether to blame biological or sociological causal factors reflects the enormous difficulty involved in ascertaining whether nature or nurture plays a greater role in shaping peoples' actions. As we saw, it is impossible to be certain about this, because it is ethically impossible to conduct research experiments on human beings. It is therefore concluded that it seems likely that both biology and social environment play a role, but that it is impossible to assess which is the dominant causal factor."

Sample of Sources Used:

Decter, Midge. "What Are Little Boys Made Of?" Commentary, 106.6 (December 1998): 27+.
George, Malcolm J. "Into the Eyes of Medusa: Beyond Testosterone, Men, and Violence." The Journal of Men's Studies 5.4 (1997): 295+.
Haniff, Nesha Z. "Male Violence against Men and Women in the Caribbean: The Case of Jamaica." Journal of Comparative Family Studies 29.2 (1998): 361.
Hien, Denise, and Nina M. Hien. "Women, Violence with Intimates, and Substance Abuse: Relevant Theory, Empirical Findings, and Recommendations for Future Research." American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 24.3 (1998): 419+.
Lepowsky, Maria. "Women, Men and Aggression in an Egalitarian Society." Sex Roles: A Journal of Research 30.3-4 (1994): 199+.