Conflict resolution strategies of Hong Kong aggressive youth

Employing the Hong Kong Teenage Nonviolence Test, this study investigated 120 Hong Kong adolescents’ endorsement of various conflict resolution strategies as a function of gender and type of aggression. Results revealed all participants endorsed a moderately high level of using Empathy and Satyagraha (insistence on the truth) when faced with conflict. Moreover, the reactive-proactive aggressive youth reported a moderate degree of utilizing Physical-Psychological Violence to resolve conflict, while reactive aggressors and non-aggressors revealed a minimal amount of using this strategy. Additional studies are needed to further explore the relationship between aggression and various conflict resolution strategies. The findings can inform mental health professionals interested in designing programs to promote or reinforce protective or buffering factors (e.g., conflict resolution strategies) linked with proactive and reactive aggression.