Gun Ownership Among Women Living in One Adult Households

Although there is a large body of literature on the determinants of handgun ownership, most of the studies have focused on males and very little is known about the social correlates of gun ownership among American women. In this study, we use the NORC General Social Survey data (1973–1991) to examine the social correlates of gun ownership among a national sample of American women who are the only adult in the household. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance results reveal that the percentage of women who have a gun at home has fluctuated between a high of 27.4 percent reached in 1977 and a low of 8.1 percent recorded in 1991. Ownership tends to be higher among women who are from rural counties, predominantly southern, married, and between 50–59 years old. Moreover the study found that gun ownership was more prevalent among women who oppose gun control legislation and who support the death penalty. The study found that women living in households where there are no children twelve and under are more likely to have a gun at home than women who have one or more children at home. In contrast, women who have teenagers living in their households reported more ownership than those who responded that they do not have teenagers at home. Race, education, fear of crime, victimization, and respondents' attitudes toward the courts' handling of offenders were not statistically significant predictors of gun ownership.