Gun Attitudes and Fear of Crime

Abstract

The relationship between attitudes toward guns and fear of crime was examined in three studies. In Study 1,73 items about guns were administered to subjects to determine if the construct “Gun Attitudes” contained sub-constructs, possibly causing the confusion in the literature on gun attitudes and fear of crime. Nine factors were revealed, which were grouped into Socio-cultural and Personal Indices. In Study 2, the 65 gun items that showed reasonable variance in Study 1 were paired with measures of fear of crime, local crime rate, and experience with guns. The same nine factors as in Study 1 emerged, and further analyses showed that, after controlling for gender, personal experience, and risk of crime, a significant relationship existed between fear of crime and attitudes toward guns, with people higher in fear of crime reporting attitudes more favorable to gun control. Study 3 was based on telephone interviews with Chicago residents, and once again a positive relationship was revealed between fear of crime and positive attitudes toward gun control. In addition, Study 3 revealed a positive relationship between stereotypical beliefs about gun victims and support for gun control. Implications and future directions are discussed.

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