There is, however, little knowledge about the causes of girls' violence, and few studies have been conducted on young women's crime and delinquency. Meda Chesney-Lind and her associates have undertaken the most comprehensive analysis of these studies. They have provided much insight into this complex issue, showing significant differences between violent acts by girls and boys. This digest reviews current research on girls' delinquent and violent behavior, the factors contributing to it, and effective programming strategies to prevent it. Changes in the way girls are charged, as opposed to the commission of more violent crimes by girls, may explain part of the increase in arrests for violence.
Violent crimes committed by girls differ significantly from boys' offenses.
Boys are two to three times more likely to carry weapons, and girls are more likely to use knives than guns, boys' weapon of choice. In the 1970s violent girls began receiving more attention from researchers because of the perceived increase in their offenses and because of the involvement of more women in scholarship. Much of the work focused on explaining why so few girls and women participate in criminal activity compared with males, rather than on what motivates females toward crime and delinquency. Biological differences between males and females were assumed to be a reason for the crime rate differential. The increase in female violence was attributed to the perpetrators' renunciation of femininity and the adoption of masculine characteristics and values.