Lessons of an Honor Code: A Consideration of Conflict-Related Processes and Interpersonal Violence

• NCJ Number: 255753
• Journal: British Journal of Criminology Volume: 59 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2019 Pages: 1076-1098
• Author(s): Mark T. Berg; Ethan M. Rogers; Bruce G. Taylor; Weiwei Liu; Elizabeth A Mumford
• Date Published: September 2019
• Length: 23 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2015-VF-GX-0110
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Award: A Nationally Representative Study of Conflicts, Dyadic Interactions, and the Victim-Offender Overlap

Annotation

Drawing from interactionist perspectives of aggression and subcultural theories, this study examined the mediating role of two conflict-related tendencies, i.e., disputatiousness and remedial actions, as well as the extent to which remedial actions moderate the association between disputatiousness and violence.

Abstract

Criminological research has long suggested that attitudes concerned with honor and aggression, such as the 'street code', are related to violent offending and victimization. Comparatively little information is known, however, about the mechanisms through which these attitudes increase violence. In the current study, predictions were tested using longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample of young adults in the United States. Results show that conflict-related tendencies mediate the pathways that link the street code to violent offending and victimization. In addition, remedial actions temper the association between disputatiousness and violence involvement. (publisher abstract modified)