Cross-cultural violence

The topic of violence has to date been well-researched within the psychology community (Fender, 2003: Lutz, Holt and Hacken, 2005). However, large portions of territory remain to be ploughed. Lutz et al. (2005) conducted a meta-analysis of research done using the RMAT scale (rape, murder, assault, theft) and found significant differences between males and females within the United States. In general, males tended to be more highly correlated with rape (r = .84), murder (r = .70), assault (r = .94) and theft (r = .59) than their female counterparts. In nearly all cases, male figures were twice that of female figures, indicating males are significantly more likely to commit violent acts than females.


Many scholars have suggested taking a broader view of community violence. Clarion (1999) called for more research in diverse cultural settings, as the majority of studies have taken place within the continental United States. Asia and Africa have yet to be studied in regards inter-community violence. Because of its relatively high violent crime rate, Africa was chosen as the focus of loci.


Using an expanded version of the RMAT (RMAT-EX) and direct observation, we tested eight groups of lions (known as "prides"(Robbinson et al., 1968)) (N=243) to see whether correlations between male and female populations were similar to those found in the U.S. studies. Our four primary hypotheses were as follows:


1. Males will have higher rates of rape than will females.
2. Males will have higher rates of murder than will females.
3. Males will have higher rates of assault than will females.
4. Males will have higher rates of theft than females.


Results turned out to be surprising. The behavior among the African females was strikingly more violent than that of their U.S. counterparts; scores were significantly higher across three of the four dimensions (murder, assault and theft), and the relationship between male/female violence was reversed. We used a multi-method approach to confirm reliability, but found that the RMAT results were insignificant. However, direct observation yielded much richer descriptions of the day to day behaviors of the African communities.


Although rape was a consistent male phenomenon across cultures, females in Africa committed significantly more murder, assault, and theft than females in the U.S. There was also a high correlation between assault and murder - in nearly all recorded instances, females would begin by assaulting another individual and then finish the act with murder. Perhaps most surprising was the high rate of cannibalism that followed.


Limitations:


The findings appear to be quite robust, demonstrating adequate levels of discriminant and convergent validity (Campbell and Fiske, 1959). Internal reliability (measured by Cronbach's Alpha) was also robust (.86). One possible drawback may be the use of humans in one sample and lions in another sample.


In summary, we can say that there are clear cultural differences regarding community violence.In other words -- Culture matters. We encourage continued study in the area of cross-cultural violence and welcome cross-fertilization from other fields such as zoology and sexual pscyhiatry.

Dr. Uck, Ph.D.

[photo: The Lilac Breasted Roller, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0]