Increased Risks or Peace of Mind? Exploring Fear, Victimization, and Safety Strategies Among Women Planning to Get a Gun

• Published in: Journal of interpersonal violence 2022-10, Vol.37 (19-20), p.NP18032-NP18059
• Main Authors: Logan, TK, Lynch, Kellie R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Fear of crime; Females; Firearms; Gun Control; Mental depression; Ownership; Planning; Safety; Self destructive behavior; Victimization; Victims of Crime; Weapons; Women
• ISSN: 0886-2605; 1552-6518
• DOI: 10.1177/08862605211035865

Much of the research on firearm owners implies that the U.S. population can be divided into two groups—those that own guns and those that do not; however, there is a third group—those thinking of getting a gun and almost nothing is known about this group. A survey on gun ownership, experiences, and behaviors was deployed online via Prolific in June and July 2020 to recruit women from the general U.S. population who were planning on getting a gun (n = 187), who owned a gun (n = 288) and who did not own or plan to own guns (n = 968). Results show that women planning on getting a gun worried more about their personal safety and more had experienced recent interpersonal violence victimization compared to the other two groups. Almost all of the women planning on getting a gun believed that carrying a gun would make them safer. Even though women planning on getting a gun had limited experience with guns, they expressed fewer gun related worries than nongun owners. Additionally, women planning on getting a gun had more depression symptoms and more of them indicated they had thoughts of self-harm in the past two weeks than current gun owners. Depression symptoms were significantly associated with plans to get a gun in the multivariate model. Given the risks associated with having firearms in the household, interventions could target those considering getting a gun as well as educating friends and family about what to say when someone close is considering obtaining a firearm for safety.