A Psychometric Analysis of Aggression and Conflict-Resolution Behavior in Black Adolescent Males

Abstract

The present study tests the effectiveness of the Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS) and an adaptation of the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI) to differentiate between aggressive and nonaggressive inner city Black adolescent males. The CTS provided measures of conflict-resolution behavior toward “others” except siblings and parents; the adapted version of the BDHI provided measures of aggression toward “friends” and “strangers”. The sample consisted of 83 males, ranging in age from 12 to 17 with a mean age of 13.9 years, who were classified as institutionalized aggressive subjects, noninstitutionalized aggressive subjects, and noninstitutionalized nonaggressive subjects on the basis of their behavior before the CTS and adapted version of the BDHI were administered. The results indicated that the adapted version of the BDHI discriminated between the aggressive and nonaggressive subjects as well as institutionalized and noninstitutionalized subjects. The results showed that the verbal physical aggression scales of the CTS differentiated between the institutionalized aggressive and noninstitutionalized nonaggressive subjects. Positive correlations were obtained between the CTS and subscales of the adapted version of the BDHI The results indicated that the scales may be useful for assessing aggression and conflict-resolution behaviour among inner-city Black adolescent males.

Alcohol Problems and the Differentiation of Partner, Stranger, and General Violence

“…The CTS to Strangers has been reported by Boone and Flint (1988) and by Cogan, Porcerelli, and Dromgoole (2001). Ballinger (2000) concluded based on the factor analysis that the CTS to Strangers and CTS by Strangers to and by men and women each includes four factors: Reasoning (Items 1 to 3; e.g., Item 1, "Discussed the issue calmly"), Verbal Aggression (Items 4 to 10; e.g., Item 4, "Insulted or swore at the other one,"), Physical Aggression-mild (Items 11 to 13; e.g., Item 11, "Threw something at the other one"), and Physical Aggression-severe (Items 14 to 18; e.g., item 14, "Kicked, bit, or hit with a fist").…”

“…To study the validity of the CTS, the reports of partners have been compared and found to agree more on the presence or absence of items and less on the frequency of occurrence of items (reviewed by Straus, 1989). Evidence for concurrent validity of the CTS-to Strangers was provided by Boone and Flint (1988), who found that CTS Reasoning, Verbal Aggression, and Physical Aggression directed toward friends and directed toward strangers correlated significantly with the corresponding scales of the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory (Buss & Durkee, 1957).…”

Aggression in Inpatient Adolescents

“…Items include "I hit when I'm bugged and pestered by friends" and "When I really lose my temper, I'm likely to hit strangers." Adequate internal consistency of the scale has been demonstrated (Boone & Flint, 1988;Knox et al, 2000). Good construct and concurrent validity have also been demonstrated; the BD correlates significantly and positively with adolescent males' scores on the Conflict Tactics Scale and with adolescent males'and females' scores on the Brown-Goodwin Assessment for Lifetime History of Aggression, adapted version (Boone & Flint, 1988;Knox et al, 2000).…”

“…To limit findings to acts of physical aggression, we used scores on the Physical Aggression (Assault) subscale of the Buss Durkee Hostility Inventory, adapted version (BD) (Boone & Flint, 1988;Buss & Durkee, 1957), in these analyses. The BD is a self-report measure of aggressive behavior.…”

Adolescents Engaged in Radicalisation and Terrorism: A Dimensional and Categorical Assessment

“…We also evaluated their sense of empathy using Bryant's child and adolescent empathy scale (26), translated into French in 2008 (27), and their emotional attachment through the inventory of parent and peer attachment (IPPA) from Armsden and Greenberg (28) [French translation by Touch and Sigel, 2006, (29)]. We also evaluated the level of impulsiveness and hostility of these adolescents using a section from the Eysenck I7 questionnaire for children and adolescents (30) and the adolescent version of the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory (31). Self-esteem was evaluated with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), translated into French by Vallieres and Vallerand (32).…”