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Studies of gun ownership have all but ignored the use of life course approaches in the examination of this issue. While attention has been given to experiences with firearms during childhood and adolescence, later stages of the lifecycle are nonexistent. Even less attention has been devoted to the study of differences between generational cohorts and gun ownership. This paper utilizes membership in a generational cohort to examine gun ownership in U.S. adults. The paper uses the 1973-2004 General Social Survey data to examine the issue. The analysis was conducted at both the household and personal level of gun ownership. The findings of the logistic regression analysis indicate that holding relevant factors constant show some support for generational effects associated with gun ownership. Further, social, demographic, and political factors associated with gun ownership and their subsequent indications of the conservative values associated with gun ownership across generations are identified and discussed. Suggestions for future research involving gun ownership and the life course are also presented. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The delinquency literature suggests the existence of a relationship between the experience of childhood victimization and delinquent behavior. Research has examined this connection with regard to violent behavior by juveniles. Agnew's (1992, 2005) revised general strain theory may shed light on the mechanisms that mediate between the experience of victimization and participation by juveniles in violent behavior. In this light, it is important to examine how girls and boys may differentially respond to the strain caused by victimization, thus helping to account for the substantial differences in participation in violence by male as opposed to female juveniles. Using data supplied by the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission for the years 1999-2003, this study develops and tests a model of the relationship between victimization, strain, and violent behavior by male and female juveniles. Preliminary findings suggest that differential responses to the strain created by victimization may help account for sex differences in reported violent behavior by male and female juveniles. Implications of the findings are discussed, along with suggestions for additional research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]