Conflict Resolution Style

Abstract

The Conflict Resolution Style scale, originally developed by Slaby and Guerra in 1988, is a brief self-report instrument designed to assess how Adolescents respond to various confrontational situations. The primary goal of the assessment is to quantify the individual’s tendency toward Aggression, distinguishing between verbally aggressive and physically aggressive response choices within common peer conflict scenarios.

This instrument is particularly relevant for research focused on behavioral predictors and Conflict Resolution Style among young male offenders or at-risk youth. The scale utilizes five hypothetical vignettes, requiring respondents to select all actions they would likely take, with higher scores indicating higher aggressive tendencies.

Keywords

Aggression, Violence-Related Attitudes, Conflict Resolution Style, Adolescent Offenders, Social Cognition, Behavioral Assessment, Developmental Psychology.

Authors

Slaby RG, Guerra NG, Flewelling RL (for modifications).

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Conflict Resolution Style scale is to quantitatively measure the behavioral styles utilized by Adolescents when faced with interpersonal conflict or provocation. It seeks to identify the preference for aggressive versus non-aggressive coping mechanisms across various social scenarios typical of the age group.

Specifically, the instrument is designed to assess the propensity for both verbal and physical Aggression. Responses are scored to reflect the degree of aggressive tendency, making it a valuable tool for intervention planning and studies focusing on the psychological underpinnings of violence-related attitudes in youth.

Construct

The scale measures the psychological construct of Conflict Resolution Style, particularly focusing on the cognitive and behavioral strategies adolescents employ when provoked. It is rooted in social-cognitive theories suggesting that aggressive behavior is mediated by how individuals interpret and respond to ambiguous or hostile social cues.

The original work by Slaby and Guerra (1988) placed this assessment within a larger framework examining Cognitive Mediators of aggression in adolescent offenders. The scale indirectly assesses underlying hostile attribution biases and the learned repertoire of conflict responses, classifying them along a spectrum from highly aggressive (verbal/physical) to socially constructive or avoidant.

Validity

Specific psychometric details regarding the validity coefficients (e.g., criterion or construct validity) of this abbreviated scale are not explicitly provided in the source compendium. However, the original research by Slaby and Guerra (1988) focused on linking these conflict resolution patterns to actual behavioral outcomes in adolescent offenders, suggesting strong theoretical and empirical foundations for the measure’s validity in assessing aggressive tendencies.

The scale items are scenario-based, providing high face validity for measuring responses to common adolescent interpersonal conflicts, including situations involving peer pressure, insults, and relationship disputes. Items 4 and 5 were added by Flewelling et al. (1993) to expand the scope of conflict contexts assessed.

Reliability

Information concerning the internal consistency (e.g., Cronbach’s alpha) or test-retest reliability of the Conflict Resolution Style scale as a standalone five-item measure is not detailed in the available source material. Typically, measures derived from comprehensive psychological assessments, such as this one, possess acceptable reliability based on the rigorous standards applied in Developmental Psychology research.

Factor Analysis

Specific factor analytic findings for this brief set of items are not documented in the provided source. Given the scoring structure, which separates aggressive responses into verbal and physical components, it is plausible that the underlying structure may reflect at least two dimensions of aggressive response style: Verbal Aggression and Physical Aggression. However, the scale is primarily used to generate a single composite score of overall aggressive tendency.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report behavioral assessment

Format: Scenario-based questionnaire with multiple-choice responses (Check all that apply).

Language Available: English (original publication).

Population Group: Adolescent males.

Age Group: 12–16 years old.

Population Details: Originally validated using samples of adolescent offenders in studies related to cognitive mediators of aggression. The instrument measures adolescents’ styles of handling conflict situations.

Test Methodology: Respondents read brief conflict scenarios and select all applicable response options. Scoring involves assigning a point for each selection of a verbally and/or physically aggressive response choice. The first response choices are typically the verbally aggressive choices; the last responses are the physically aggressive choices. Possible score ranges are 1–5 or 1–10, with higher scores indicating higher aggressive tendencies.

Keywords

Verbal Aggression, Physical Aggression, Adolescent Behavior, Violence Prevention, Social Conflict, Slaby and Guerra.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A

Correspondence Address: N/A (Refer to the 1988 publication in Developmental Psychology for original institutional affiliation of Slaby and Guerra.)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The original research was published in 1988 (Slaby & Guerra), with modifications and additions (Items 4 and 5) introduced by Flewelling et al. in 1993. The scale items were made available in the public domain compendium, Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes‚ Behaviors‚ and Influences Among Youths: A Compendium of Assessment Tools (CDC publication), suggesting broad usage for non-commercial research purposes.

Fee information is not available, but due to its inclusion in a public health compendium, the instrument is generally considered free for academic and government research use. The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/YV_Compendium.pdf.

Reference’s

• Slaby RG‚ Guerra NG. Cognitive mediators of aggression in adolescent offenders: I. Assessment. Developmental Psychology 1988;24(4):580-588.

• Flewelling, R. L., et al. (1993). Modifications to the scale items, specifically the addition of items 4 and 5.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes‚ Behaviors‚ and Influences Among Youths: A Compendium of Assessment Tools. (Scale items found on pages 198-199).

Items of the Conflict Resolution Style

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. Imagine that you’re in line for a drink of water. Someone your age comes along and pushes you out of line.

What would you probably do if this happened to you? (check all that apply)

• Say something nasty to him.
• Ask him why he pushed you.
• Nothing‚ just walk away.
• Tell him it’s your place in line.
• Push him out of line.

2. You’re walking to the store. Someone your age walks up to you and calls you a name.

What would you probably do if this happened to you? (check all that apply)

• Call him a name.
• Ask him what’s going on.
• Walk away from him.
• Tell him to cut it out.
• Hit him.

3. You see your friend fighting with another boy his age.

What would you probably do if this happened to you? (check all that apply)

• Cheer for your friend to win.
• Find out why your friend and the other kid are fighting.
• Go away and let your friend and the other kid fight it out.
• Try to get both of them to calm down and stop fighting.
• Join your friend fighting against the other kid.

4. You see another guy trying to kiss and put his arm around your girlfriend.

What would you probably do if this happened to you? (check all that apply)

• Say something rude to him.
• Ask him why he’s messing with your girlfriend.
• Nothing‚ just ignore the situation.
• Let him know that she’s your girlfriend.
• Push him away from your girlfriend.

5. Suppose that you were with your girlfriend at a party. She was dancing real close and acting sexy‚ but now she doesn’t want to make out with you.

What would you probably do if this happened to you? (check all that apply)

• Say something mean or insulting to her.
• Ask her why she doesn’t want to make out.
• Ignore her and go talk to someone else.
• Tell her that you’re really in the mood for making out with her.
• Start kissing her and making out anyway.

(Items 4 and 5 were added and minor modifications in wording were made by Flewelling‚ et al.‚ 1993.)