NCJ Number
159336
Date Published
Unknown
Length
167 pages
Annotation
Data collected from 1,619 children and youths in grades 3 through 12 gathered information on why some young people express attitudes favorable to the use of guns and violence and why others do not.
Abstract
The research used questions about exposure to guns and rifles and the 61-item Attitudes toward Guns and Violence Questionnaire to replicate and expand previous research with a sample that was more demographically diverse and had a wider age range. Participants attended grades 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, and 12 in an urban public school system, an inner-ring suburban public school system, a Catholic parochial school, and a private boys' school. Stringent controls were used to exclude responses exhibiting invalidating styles. The analyses were performed on the 1,164 valid protocols. Results revealed that youth who respond aggressively to shame, consider guns to be exciting, feel comfortable with aggression, and believe that guns bring power and safety are attracted to guns and violence. Youth reporting an everyday familiarity with firearms expressed more attraction towards guns and violence than youth without this familiarity. Findings suggested that violence prevention interventions should include work on social skills, interpersonal problemsolving, assertiveness, values, and self-esteem so that young people at risk can develop the psychosocial skills they need to pursue their goals nonviolently and effectively. Appended instruments, additional results, and 27 references