US EPA

664589 

Book/Book Chapter 

Sex differences in antisocial behavior: Conduct disorder, delinquency, and violence in the Dunedin Longitudinal Study 

Moffitt, TE; Caspi, A; Rutter, M; Silva, PA 

2001 

University of Cambridge Press 

Cambridge, UK 

Why are females antisocial so seldom and males antisocial so often? This key question is addressed in a fresh approach to sex differences in the causes, course, and consequences of antisocial behaviour. The book presents all-new findings from a landmark investigation of 1,000 males and females studied from ages 3 to 21 years. It shows that young people develop antisocial behaviour for two main reasons. One form of antisocial behaviour is a neurodevelopmental disorder afflicting males, with low prevalence in the population, early childhood onset, and subsequent persistence. The other form of antisocial behaviour, afflicting females as well as males, is common, and emerges in the context of social relationships. The book offers insights about diagnosis and measurement, the importance of puberty, the problem of partner violence, and the nature of intergenerational transmission. It puts forward a new agenda for research about both neurodevelopmental and social influences on antisocial behaviour. 

Cambridge Studies in Criminology 

9780521804455