Objectives: We examine whether offenders are at greater risk of violent victimization than non-offenders because of their disputatiousness; that is, their tendency to become involved in verbal conflicts. We also examine whether offenders are more disputatious because of their low self-control, alcohol use, and honor-based attitudes and whether disputatiousness can explain the effects of these individual differences on violent victimization. Method: A series of regression models examine self-reported data from 503 male inmates and 220 men (N = 723) they know from the community who have never been arrested. Results: Disputatiousness accounts for a substantial portion of the relationship between victimization and offending (i.e., inmate status). Disputatiousness also mediates the relationships between victimization and frequent intoxication, low self-control, and honor-based attitudes. Low self-control and heavy alcohol use account for a substantial portion of the relationship between offending and disputatiousness. Disputatiousness and victimization are associated with a history of assaultive offenses but not a history of robbery. Conclusions: The tendency to become involved in verbal conflicts can partly explain high victimization rates among male offenders, and among men who lack self-control, are frequently intoxicated, and have strong concerns about protecting their honor.

Research suggests that incarceration exposure increases the prevalence of morbidity and premature mortality. This work is only beginning to examine whether the stressors of the incarceration experience become biologically embedded in ways that affect physiological deterioration. Using data from a longitudinal sample of 410 African American adults in the Family and Community Health Study and an epigenetic index of aging, this study tests the extent to which incarceration accelerates epigenetic aging and whether experiences with violence moderate this association. Results from models that adjust for selection effects suggest that incarceration exposure predicted accelerated aging, leaving formerly incarcerated African American individuals biologically older than their calendar age. Direct experiences with violence also exacerbated the effects of incarceration. These findings suggest that incarceration possibly triggers a stress response that affects a biological signature of physiological deterioration.

We examine the role of a norm protecting women in understanding third‐party partisanship in verbal and violent disputes. Our analyses are based on reports provided by male inmates and men they know who have never been arrested. The results show that third parties are more likely to support female adversaries than male adversaries. The gender effect is stronger when we control for the relational distance between adversaries, which indicates that a privacy norm might inhibit this normative protection. The gender effect is somewhat weaker when we control for the relative physical size of the adversaries, which indicates that a general norm protecting vulnerable people partly explains the gender effect. The strong gender effect that remains, however, demonstrates the importance of the normative protection of women, regardless of relative size, during disputes. The results have implications for research on situational factors in violence and violence against women.

Depression is a particularly prevalent form of psychopathology affecting millions of individuals worldwide. It is associated with a variety of adverse social and behavioral outcomes. Numerous observational studies have found that depressed individuals have significantly elevated rates of interpersonal violence. As of now, the social mechanisms that explain the association between depression and violence remain understudied and not well understood. Drawing on the aggression and social psychology literatures, we argue that depressed actors suffer skills deficits and exhibit hostile communication styles that provoke grievances and disputes. We suggest that, because of these interpersonal tendencies, depression increases involvement in verbal disputes, and that frequent participation in verbal disputes foments social contexts where interpersonal violence is more common. Findings from a series of regression models based on a nationally representative sample of 2171 respondents offer support for our assumptions. The study suggests a consideration of interpersonal dynamics, particularly verbal disputes, might unlock clues about the association between depression and violence involvement.