Attitudes Toward Guns and Violence Scale

Abstract

The Attitudes Toward Guns and Violence Scale (ATGV or ATGVQ) is a 23-item psychological scale designed to quantitatively assess an individual’s attraction toward and acceptance of firearms and violence, primarily focusing on youth populations. This self-report instrument utilizes a Likert-type format to measure complex cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components underlying these attitudes, including beliefs about the utility of guns, the justification of aggression, and the perceived emotional rewards of violent behavior. The ATGV provides a multidimensional profile across four empirically derived factors: Aggressive Response to Shame, Excitement, Comfort with Aggression, and Power/Safety.

Keywords

Attitudes, Guns, Violence, Aggression, Gun Control, Youth, Shame, Self-Defense, Psychological Assessment.

Authors

J. P. Shapiro, R. L. Dorman, C. J. Welker, J. B. Clough

Purpose

The primary purpose of the ATGV is to provide a systematic and detailed assessment of the range of attitudes held by children and adolescents regarding firearm ownership, the necessity of guns for self-defense, and the general acceptability of violence as a method for conflict resolution. By quantifying these specific beliefs, the scale serves as a valuable tool for researchers and clinicians seeking to identify youth who may exhibit predisposing factors for future aggressive or violent behavior.

Beyond individual risk assessment, the scale is crucial in research contexts focused on understanding the psychological precursors to gun violence. It is frequently employed to evaluate the impact of media exposure to violence and to measure the effectiveness of prevention and intervention programs specifically designed to reduce youth aggression and address positive firearm attitudes.

Construct

The ATGV is designed to measure the latent construct defined as attraction to guns and violence. This construct is conceptualized as a multidimensional attitude that incorporates cognitive beliefs, emotional responses, and behavioral intentions related to firearms and aggressive acts. The instrument differentiates itself from simple behavioral reporting by capturing underlying motivational beliefs that may normalize, justify, or even glorify the use of guns and aggressive actions.

The measurement structure is specifically organized around four core factors, allowing for a nuanced assessment of this attraction. These factors distinguish between instrumental rationales (such as seeking safety or power) and emotional or reactive responses (such as excitement derived from gun use or the management of shame through aggression). This depth ensures that the scale captures the full spectrum of psychological drivers behind pro-violence attitudes in youth.

Validity

The ATGV is recognized as a valid measure for assessing youth attitudes toward guns and violence. The scale exhibits strong content validity, ensuring that its 23 items comprehensively cover the spectrum of relevant beliefs, including perceptions of gun necessity, acceptability of gun ownership, desirability of gun control, and the appropriateness of using violence for dispute resolution.

Evidence for Criterion Validity has been established through empirical studies (e.g., Shapiro et al., 1998), which demonstrated meaningful relationships between ATGV scores and demographic variables such as age, gender, ethnic background, and history of firearm exposure. Furthermore, the instrument’s external validity is supported by its suitability for measuring attitudes in both adolescent and adult populations, although it is primarily standardized for school-aged youth.

Reliability

The Attitudes Toward Guns and Violence Scale is consistently reported as reliable, confirming its ability to provide stable and dependable measurements of the underlying construct. Reliability analyses primarily focus on measures of internal consistency, such as Cronbach’s alpha, which indicate that the items within the scale consistently measure the same latent factors. This strong internal consistency supports the scale’s appropriate use in clinical and research settings focused on youth aggression and attitudes toward firearms.

Factor Analysis

The multidimensional structure of the ATGV is substantiated through rigorous factor analysis, which yielded four empirically derived factors. This approach allows researchers and clinicians to obtain detailed subscale scores, providing a more detailed diagnostic profile than a single total score, thereby enhancing the instrument’s utility.

• Aggressive Response to Shame: This factor measures the conviction that feelings of shame, disrespect, or being insulted must be neutralized or avenged through an aggressive, often violent, counter-response. (Items 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 16, 18, 20).
• Excitement: This subscale quantifies the degree to which the respondent experiences guns as intrinsically stimulating, exciting, or enjoyable, indicating an emotional attraction to firearms. (Items 6, 7, 9, 11, 14).
• Comfort With Aggression: This factor assesses general beliefs, values, and emotional comfort regarding the acceptability and desirability of aggression and violence within social and interpersonal interactions. (Items 8, 12, 13, 17, 21, 22).
• Power/Safety: This factor measures the belief that owning or carrying firearms, or engaging in activities like gang membership, inherently enhances one’s personal safety on the street and confers a strong sense of personal power or strength. (Items 3, 4, 19, 23).

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire / Psychological Scale

Format: 23 items rated on a five-point Likert Scale format. Response options for scoring typically include Agree, Not Sure, and Disagree.

Language Available: English (Primary publication language).

Population Group: Children and Adolescents (Youth).

Age Group: Students in grades 3 through 12 (approximately 8 to 18 years old).

Population Details: Although primarily standardized and validated for school-aged youth, the scale has been successfully utilized in research studies involving both adolescent and adult populations.

Test Methodology: Respondents are asked to indicate their level of agreement or disagreement with statements concerning firearms, violence, and methods for resolving interpersonal conflict.

Keywords

Psychological Assessment, Firearm Attitudes, Juvenile Delinquency, Violence Prevention, Conflict Resolution, Shame Management, Likert Scale.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A

Correspondence Address: Western Psychological Services, 12031 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90025. Tel: (800) 648-8857, Fax: (310) 478-7838. Website: www.wpspublish.com

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Attitudes Toward Guns and Violence Scale is a copyrighted instrument. Professional users are required to contact Western Psychological Services (WPS) to obtain necessary permission for use and to acquire official scoring and administration materials. Standard fees and professional requirements apply for its utilization. The primary manual reference for this questionnaire is dated 2000.

The instrument is officially included in the publication “Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes, Behaviors, and Influences Among Youths: A Compendium of Assessment Tools.” The original PDF of this compendium can be downloaded here: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/YV_Compendium.pdf. Another source for the instrument is available here: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED486261.pdf.

Reference’s

• Shapiro‚ J. P. (2000). Attitdues Toward Guns and Violence Questionnaire: Manual. Los Angeles‚ CA: Western Psychological Services.
• Shapiro‚ J. P.‚ Dorman‚ R. L.‚ Welker‚ C. J.‚ & Clough‚ J. B. (1998). Youth attitudes towards guns and violence: Relation with sex‚ age‚ ethnic group‚ and firearm exposure. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology‚ 27 (1)‚ 98-108.
• Shapiro‚ J. P.‚ Dorman‚ R. L.‚ Burkey‚ W. M.‚ Welker‚ C. J.‚ & Clough‚ J. B. (1997). Development and factor analysis of a measure of youth attitudes towards guns and violence. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology‚ 26 (93)‚ 311-320.
• The Gun Safety Institute. (1994). Attitudes towards guns and violence. Unpublished report. Cleveland‚ OH: Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Items of the Attitudes Toward Guns and Violence Scale

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. You’ve got to fight to show people you’re not a wimp.
2. If someone disrespects me‚ I have to fight them to get my pride back.
3. Carrying a gun makes people feel safe.
4. Carrying a gun makes people feel powerful and strong.
5. If people are nice to me I’ll be nice to them‚ but if someone stops me from getting what I want‚ they’ll pay for it bad.
6. I’d like to have a gun so that people would look up to me.
7. It would be exciting to hold a loaded gun in my hand.
8. I wish there weren’t any guns in my neighborhood.
9. I bet it would feel real cool to walk down the street with a gun in my pocket.
10. I’d feel awful inside if someone laughed at me and I didn’t fight them.
11. It would make me feel really powerful to hold a loaded gun in my hand.
12. Most people feel nervous around someone with a gun and they want to get away from that person.
13. The people I respect would never go around with a gun because they’re against hurting people.
14. I think it would be fun to play around with a real gun.
15. If someone insults me or my family‚ it really bothers me‚ but if I beat them up‚ that makes me feel better.
16. If somebody insults you‚ and you don’t want to be a chump‚ you have to fight.
17. I don’t like people who have guns because they might kill someone.
18. A kid who doesn’t get even with someone who makes fun of him is a sucker.
19. Belonging to a gang makes kids feel safe because they’ve got people to back them up.
20. If I acted the way teachers think I should out on the street‚ people would think I was weak and I’d get pushed around.
21. I wish everyone would get rid of all their guns.
22. I don’t like being around people with guns because someone could end up getting hurt.
23. Kids in gangs feel like they’re part of something powerful.