Abstract
This article seeks to contribute both to the empirical evaluations of Black’s theory and to the literature on adolescent violence. It bridges these two area by examining the utility of Black’s theory of conflict management for explaining the use of violence in conflict situations between juveniles, an area in which Black’s propositions have not yet been systematically evaluated. The analysis focuses only on violence used to further a robbery, theft, or other predatory crime. Black’s theory is used as a basis for identifying social variables that increase the likelihood of using violence as a conflict management technique. A 1995 data set consisting of 220 violent encounters that developed from disagreements involving at least one juvenile is analyzed. The core of the article evaluates Black’s propositions regarding the increasing likelihood and severity of violence in adolescent disputes involving status-equal and social distant antagonists, the presence of partisan third parties, the absence of alternative means of conflict management, and the antagonists’ inability to physically remove themselves from the immediate conflict situation.
Recommended Citation
Marian J. Borg,
Using Violence as Social Control: Applying a Theory of Conflict Management to Juvenile Disputes,
10 U. Fla. J.L. & Pub. Pol'y
(1999).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/jlpp/vol10/iss2/4