An Exploratory Analysis of Gender Differences in Punitiveness in Two Countries

Although social scientists have long studied attitudes toward severity of punishment, theoretically driven, validated measures that gauge a female-male gap in punitiveness are rare and those tested in different countries are even more so. Studies conducted in different geographical locations and/or at different times reveal inconsistent findings on whether such a gap in fact exists and, if so, whether women or men are more punitive. As a result, it is not clear whether individual differences in punitiveness are due to the differences between men and women or to the type of measures used. To address this shortcoming, the current study explored the putative female-male gap in punitiveness by using the same multi-item measure of individual punitiveness with two very different samples, one selected in Georgia (country) and the second in the New York metropolitan area (NYC). The results showed that while females and males were not distinctly different in their views on punishment and sentencing laws in either country, women and men were punitive in different ways. This finding partially supports previously reported results. In addition, individuals in the NYC sample seemed to be comparatively more punitive than the individuals in the Georgian sample. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.