The subculture of violence hypothesis and its present empirical status are reviewed. A path model of the subcultural hypothesis is developed and tested with survey data collected from adolescents. The predictions of the subcultural model receive only partial support; only a moderate amount of variation in violent behavior is explained. There is some evidence of interaction between sex and the carrying of a weapon. The use of survey data to test the subcultural hypothesis is criticized, as well as the hypothesis itself, and suggestions for future work are offered.
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