Gender Perceptions of Female Criminality in China and the United States

Abstract

With its rising number and emerging new trends, crime committed by females has become a worldwide concern over the past few decades. A large number of theories have been established to study female criminality with the best knowledge and unique perspectives in different periods. This thesis aimed to compare the different perceptions of the offered causal factors and solutions of female criminality between the people in China and the United States. From October 2015 to January 2016, surveys were distributed in the cities of Ganzhou in China and Nashville, Tennessee in the United States by convenience sampling. Among ten offered causal factors of female criminality, both the Chinese and American participants consider “Vindictive action caused by bad interpersonal relationships” as a critical factor that induces female crime. Beside this, Chinese people consider “Interest-driven, pleasure-seeking and non-performing” as the most important causal factor of female crimes. In contrast, respondents in the United States select “Drugs” as the most critical factor. In regard to the ten listed solutions to female criminality, Chinese people consider that “Better education programs” and “Better legal protection for females” as two leading solutions to reduce female criminality. However, the American respondents do not consider any offered solution as a more effective one over the others. These data indicate that people from China and the United States share some similar perceptions in female criminality, but also hold different views on some of the offered causal factors and solutions. The differences can be likely attributed to the particular situations in each country and people’s awareness of female criminality. Thus, further comprehensive studies on the people’s concerns will contribute to better understanding of female criminality and better strategies in crime prevention and intervention.