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In recent years arose a controversy over whether women?s gun ownership rate has increased over time. While media reports claimed a rising trend in women?s gun ownership, countable existing scholarly studies found stable rates over time. Joining this debate, our paper investigates this issue using the 1973-2002 General Social Survey data. Our bivariate analysis reveals a declining trend in female gun ownership, especially in recent years. The logistic regression results indicate that holding relevant variables constant, the probability of female gun ownership decreases over time. Comparisons are also made with men. Similar results for male gun ownership are obtained. Possible explanations and implications of findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

White supremacist discourse includes many references to the importance of 'whiteness' and the imminent threat to white cultural autonomy posed by non-white groups. Racist individuals often express an underlying need for recognition that may result in association with groups that operate outside mainstream society and are exclusively white. We use data gathered from a survey administered to members of White Revolution, an online site for individuals who self-identify as white nationalists. In this paper we analyze identity based on nationalist culture, race, and perception of group position in the broader society. We ground the study in classical prejudice theory and Blumer's group position model to try to make sense of what entices a segment of the population to inflate their sense of worth based on the concept of 'whiteness'. Findings indicate that there is some support for the influence of education on attitudes held by respondents that is consistent with an updated version of the classical prejudice model. Our results support the argument that extremist ideology found in books, literature, and propaganda on extremist Web sites heavily influences white nationalist attitudes about perceived out-group inferiority. We argue that Blumer's group position model is an effective way to interpret the social psychological processes involved in extremist perceptions of group position and group threat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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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]

There is increasing interest in the issue of womens gun ownership but research in the area has received little specific attention (Sheley et al., 1994; Smith and Smith, 1995; Bugg and Yang, 2004). One important limitation of these existing studies is found in the fact that they have relied almost exclusively on the General Social Survey (GSS). Two common explanations for womens gun ownership exist: 1) ownership due to fear of crime and 2) the ownership due to a larger gun use lifestyle. The purpose of this study is to explore the two explanations via a qualitative analysis of the images of womens gun ownership. Our study examines this topic through the use of visual images from Women & Guns magazine. Using this visual data allows for examination of a publication for women gun owners published by women gun owners and its representation of female gun ownership to readers. Findings suggest the presence of images associated with both explanations for womens gun ownership. Frequency counts of the two image types suggest that the majority of the images are depictions of lifestyle gun usage. We conclude that women's gun ownership is presented in lifestyle terms to both current and potential readers. Further research must be conducted into this topic with an emphasis on women's motivations for gun ownership. Emphasis should be given to interviewing women who have purchased a firearm for personal use as opposed to previous studies that have focused on a woman's access to a firearm in the household. [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]