A Cross-Cultural Study of Aggression and Crime

The relationships of agression and crime to variables of childhood experience, adult behavior, and social structure were studied cross-culturally. The expression of aggression and crime was rated for many cultures. These ratings were then correlated with ratings of ego strength and sub-groups of the ego strength scale (Allen, 1963), variables of childhood experience (Whiting & Child, 1953; Barry, Bacon, & Child, 1967), and variables of social structure (Barry, Bacon, & Child, 1967; Ethnology, 1962, 1963). The results of the correlations are discussed with reference to some theories of aggression, crime, and suicide.