Objective:
Despite the widespread ownership of firearms, guns can pose a threat of harm within the home, particularly homes with incidences of intimate partner violence. A gun in the home increases the risk for both accidental and intentional death. Further, guns pose a risk for not only gun violence but non-gun related violence in the home, including intimate partner violence (IPV). That is, the mere presence of a gun may escalate arguments and increase the fear of victimization among individuals in the home. In the context of IPV, gun possession has been found to increase the risk that abusers will threaten use of a firearm toward a partner, relative to abusers who do not own guns. Despite relatively low rates of such gun threats and of intimate partner homicide in the US, the availability of a gun in the hands of abusers remains a credible threat for current as well as escalating violence, even if a gun is not used in the perpetration of IPV. In this regard, the further examination of the possible psychological factors that can potentially explain how and when gun ownership relates to IPV or escalating violence (besides the obvious link that guns can cause more serious harm through threats and injuries) is warranted. Based on limited literature on the potential role of feelings of control in gun ownership and IPV, we propose that the desire for power associated with gun ownership can explain when gun possession is related to severity of IPV. Indeed, the need for control and respect is a common theme in perpetrators of IPV, particularly in men who perpetrate more serious and repeated acts of IPV.
Funded By:
New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center
Project Status:
In progress
Principal Investigator (PI):
Meaghan E. Brown, PhD, Edelyn Verona, PhD
Amount Awarded:
$4,500