Masculinity and moral development as contributors to violent crime among Mexican-American male offender

The high rate of violent crime involving men in the US is the focus of this study. The problem is complex, and the study considers four elements: (a) male perpetrated violent crime is prominent in total offenses in the United States, (b) social scientists have not provided a clear explanation of the high level of violent crime, (c) changing gender roles may be a contributing factor to violent crime, and (d) men embracing traditional masculine roles and who have not acquired higher levels of moral development, may be at greater risk of committing violent crime. The study included three research questions: Do higher levels of masculinity predict the degree of violence of crime? Are lower levels of moral development predictive of a higher degree of violent crime? Does the interaction between higher levels of traditional masculinity and lower levels of moral development effect higher levels of violent crime?;Participants' levels of traditional masculinity and moral decision making were compared with their severity of their crimes. Fifty Mexican-American male inmates were given the Brannon Masculinity Scale (BMS), the Defining Issues Test (DIT), and the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican-Americans (ARSMA). The participants' test scores were correlated with their Severity of Crime Index (SCI) levels. The correlational data for masculinity and moral decision making produced Pearson R Coefficients of 0.15 and 0.32, respectively. Analysis of data using SCI as Criterion and the BMS, DIT, and the ARSMA was preformed. Each analysis was covaried by the participants' age. Level of statistical significance was set at.05. No statistical significance was found between each variable and level of crime.;Implications from the study include: (a) Men adhering to high levels of Traditional Masculinity are no more apt to commit violent crime than other men; (b) Men who possess low levels of moral decision making are no more likely to commit violent crime than men with high levels of moral development; and (c) The interaction between high levels of masculinity and low levels of moral decision making are not predictive of violent crime.