Citation

Jang H, Kang JH, Dierenfeldt R, Lindsteadt G. Int. J. Offender Ther. Comp. Criminol. 2014; 59(11): 1239-1259.

Affiliation

Missouri Western State University, St. Joseph, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0306624X14536371

PMID

24891527

Abstract

Weapon possession on college campuses causes great concern, but there remains a lack of research examining the determinants of this phenomenon. Previous studies addressing weapon possession have primarily focused on either K-12 or the general adult population. Unlike previous studies, this study examined the weapon possession among college students using data collected from a mid-sized university in Missouri, and 451 students participated. Weapon possession and other theoretical factors were measured through the self-administered survey. Logistical regression analysis revealed that weapon socialization was the most significant factor in predicting student weapon carrying. Also, gender and age were significant factors in explaining campus-based weapon possession. This research has a limitation with generalizability because the data were collected from only a single university with convenient sampling. Future studies need to cover a wider range of college students from a variety of different universities with random sampling.

Language: en