A scale for the measurement of attitudes toward handgun control

This paper presents a scale designed for the measurement of attitudes toward handgun control. A review of the literature was undertaken in order to identify salient questions used in previous surveys measuring attitudes toward gun control in general and, more specifically, toward handgun control. Subsequently, thirteen items were developed and included in a statewide survey of 1,442 Texas residents. The thirteen items were then examined using the Guttman scaling evaluation procedure, and nine items were retained on the final scale. The coefficient of scalability for the nine-item scale was .698, and the coefficient of reproducability was .915. This scale represents the first multi-item instrument available for the measurement of attitudes toward handgun control and, therefore, presents a means for more advanced statistical analysis of the factors influencing these attitudes.