280960
Guns on campus: Attributes of those who support legal handgun concealment
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
: 3:06 p.m. - 3:18 p.m.
Ralph Wood, Ph.D., CHES,
Department of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, LA
Allowing concealed weapons on a college campus is a contentious legislative issue across the nation. However, little information is known about the characteristics and attitudes of those who work and live on a university campus. This study explores the perceptions and attitudes of college faculty, staff, and students at a southeast Louisiana university regarding concealed weapons on campus. An approved random sample of faculty, staff, and student emails were drawn by the Office of Institutional Research. A total of 1,424 faculty, staff, and students were emailed an online survey that asked questions about guns, concealed weapons on campus, and demographic characteristics. After two email waves, a total of 564 (40%) faculty, staff, and students responded. Those who completed the survey were 65% students, 20% staff, and 15% faculty. Sixty one percent of respondents had a handgun in their household. Almost half (48.4%) believed that violence in the media contributes to gun violence. Those who support students carrying concealed handguns on their campus were more likely to: agree that teachers should carry concealed firearms (OR=4.88), currently have a concealed weapon permit (OR=2.52), be a NRA member (OR=4.65), ever play first person shooter games (OR=2.77), be a student (OR=4.31), be male (OR=4.06), and currently own a handgun (OR=3.76). While a majority of students (73%) believe it is okay for teachers to carry concealed handguns, most faculty and staff (87%) do not favor concealed handguns on campus. Support for allowing legally concealed handguns on campus is influenced by gun ownership and political affiliation.
Learning Areas:
Occupational health and safety
Learning Objectives:
Describe the associations of those who believe that students should be able to legally carry a concealed weapon on campus. Identify characteristics of those who disagree that violent video games lead to gun violence. Describe attitudes of those who believe that teachers should be able to carry concealed weapons on campus.
Keyword(s): Violence Prevention, Risk Communication
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am principal investigator of this study and oversee all data management and information content.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
