Community-Based Development of Tools to Assess Firearm-Related Attitudes and Beliefs: Associations with Firearm-Related Practices, Social Influences, and Violence Exposure

Abstract The purpose of this study was to evaluate four novel measures of firearm-related attitudes and beliefs developed through participatory action research, and to determine their associations with firearm-related practices and violence exposure. Participants were a pilot sample of 550 U.S. adults (51% female; 65% White; 16% Latine; 13% Black; M age = 48.3) and a nationally representative cross-validation sample of 1,674 U.S. adults (52% female; 61% White; 18% Latine; 12% Black; M age = 47.4). Competing models of the structure of each measure were evaluated based on analyses of data from the pilot sample. This identified a single factor for General Attitudes Toward Firearms measure, three factors for a Beliefs About Defensive Firearm Use measure (Respect Enforcement; Defensive Escalation; and Compensatory Force); two factors for a Prescriptive Norms for Threat Response measure (Defense and Protection; Reputation and Respect); and two factors for an Attitudes Toward Firearm-Related Policy measure (Negative Attitudes Toward General Firearm Policies and Positive Attitudes Toward Specific Firearm Policies). Analyses of the cross-validation sample replicated this structure and provided support for strong measurement invariance across sex and ethnicity. The construct validity and utility of these measures was supported by their patterns of relations to firearm-related practices (ownership, carrying, and storage); involvement in firearm-related violence; and family and friend firearm-related influences (e.g., friends’ firearm carrying; household presence of a firearm; close family members’ and friends’ injury or death due to violence or suicide). These new measures provide promising tools to advance firearm-related injury prevention research.