On Complicating the Relationship between Liberation and Delinquency

The popular notion that the women's movement is responsible for an increase in female crime oversimplifies the concept of liberation. Distinctions are made between women's traditionality or nontraditionality in various roles—societal, familial or interpersonal, and within the realm of the criminal act itself. Data derived from a questionnaire administered in three urban high schools and two state institutions for girls suggest that there is little or no association between liberated attitudes and self-reported delinquency involvement. But at the level of the criminal act itself, there is evidence of perhaps more significant change. Females are most likely to commit delinquent acts in groups, particularly mixed-sex groups, in contrast to the traditional stereotype of females passively accompanying a romantic partner. Their explanations for their participation also depart from feminine stereotypes and resemble explanations most often associated with male delinquents.