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Same-Sex Relationships and Criminal Behavior: A Total Population Study in The Netherlands
Steve G A van de Weijer1, Sjoukje van Deuren2,3, Brian B Boutwell4,5
1Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement, PO Box 71304, 1008 BH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Archives of Sexual Behavior
|June 21, 2024
Summary
Men in same-sex relationships have lower crime risk, while women in same-sex relationships show higher criminal behavior risk compared to heterosexual individuals. These findings hold across various offenses and control for familial factors.
Area of Science:
- Criminology
- Sociology
- Public Health
Background:
- Sexual minority groups face higher risks for adverse outcomes.
- Previous US studies indicated criminal justice system contact for sexual minority females, but not males.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if sexual minority status correlates with criminal behavior in the Netherlands, a secular country with progressive attitudes.
- To determine if this association applies to various crime types and is influenced by unmeasured familial factors.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal data from the Dutch national population (75,362 same-sex, 3,464,906 opposite-sex relationships).
- Comparison of crime risk between males and females in same-sex and opposite-sex unions.
- Discordant sibling models used to control for shared familial factors.
- Analyses conducted for six crime types: property, violence, vandalism, public order, traffic, and drug offenses.
Main Results:
- Men in same-sex relationships showed a lower risk of offending (OR=0.685) compared to men in opposite-sex relationships.
- Women in same-sex relationships exhibited a higher risk of offending (OR=1.560) than women in opposite-sex relationships.
- Similar patterns were observed across most crime types and in sibling models.
Conclusions:
- The association between same-sex relationships and offending differs significantly between men and women.
- Findings suggest that sexual minority status is linked to distinct patterns of criminal behavior risk for males and females, independent of familial factors.
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