NCJ Number
122642
Journal
Criminology Volume: 27 Issue: 3 Dated: (August 1989) Pages: 419-436
Date Published
1989
Length
18 pages
Annotation
A significant intervening variable has been ignored by research assessing the capacity of a cultural explanation to account for the relationship between certain structural positions and high rates of criminal violence.
Abstract
Disputatiousness is the ignored variable; it is the likelihood of being offended by a negative outcome and seeking reparation through protest. A cultural model of disputatiousness and aggressiveness is developed by this article. This work hypothesizes that individuals occupying positions which feature high rates of violence are more likely than their counterparts to be offended by a negative outcome and to protest the injury. If their protest fails, they are more likely to use force. Also hypothesized is the idea that differential disputatiousness and aggressiveness are more pronounced when the negative outcome involves an attack on the self by an equal in a public setting. Individual-level data bearing on behavioral dispositions under a variety of circumstances are needed to test the hypotheses. This paper proposes a methodological procedure for collecting this data. The paper discusses suggestions for future research. 2 notes, 80 references. (Author abstract modified)