ATTITUDE SCALE TOWARD GUN OWNERSHIP (ASTGO): A VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY STUDY

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YASUNTİMUR A., OGUNC G. I., BAYHAN V.

Akademik Yaklaşımlar Dergisi, vol.17, no.0, pp.1-15, 2026 (TRDizin)

Abstract

While research on gun ownership has expanded in recent years, existing measurement tools are still limited in scope and fail to capture the multidimensional nature of public attitudes. The objective of this research is to design a valid and reliable measure of individuals’ attitudes toward firearm ownership. A preliminary pool of 25 items was developed drawing upon a comprehensive review of the literature and insights provided by experts. After pre-testing and pilot implementation, the pool was refined to 19 items. Data were collected from 570 individuals aged 18 to 60. Exploratory Factor Analysis was performed with a subsample of 340 individuals, while Confirmatory Factor Analysis was applied to a different sample of 230 participants. Analyses resulted in a two-dimensional structure with 10 items, named “Attitude Toward Societal Gun Ownership” and “Attitude Toward Individual Gun Ownership.” The factor loadings ranged from 0.710 to 0.888, and the model fit indices indicated satisfactory values (X²/df = 2.198, RMSEA = 0.072, CFI = 0.979). The total Cronbach’s alpha was calculated as 0.936, with values of 0.941 and 0.890 for the two subdimensions. These findings show that the developed instrument proves to be a dependable and valid means of evaluating multidimensional perceptions of firearm ownership.