All secondary school assistant principals in Massachusetts were surveyed to assess the relationships between their backgrounds, training, and values and their concepts of, preparedness for, and processes for dealing with conflict situations. Data were collected through questionnaires and through the completion by the 122 survey respondents of the Sexton-Bowerman conflict handling inventory. Statistical analysis of the data revealed that the assistant principals exhibited a fairly high level of willingness to intervene in conflict situations but engaged in a wide variety of intervention styles when actually intervening. Age and experience were found not to correlate with tendencies toward either the authoritarian or the eqalitarian end of the intervention style continuum. The data also failed to support the hypothesis that a direct relationship exists between willingness to intervene and intervention style. The author notes that the absence of adequate instruments restricted the research effort and urges both the development of better instruments and the extension of the research. The document includes a lengthy bibliography and appendices presenting the instruments used and tabular and graphic presentations of the study's major findings. (Author/PGD)