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Weapon Ownership and the Willingness to Respond to Threats with Violence: The United States and Japan

University of North Carolina–Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, North Carolina 28223-0001, USA

John P. J. Dussich

Tokiwa University, Miwa 1-430-1, Mito-shi, Ibaraki-ken, 310-5585, Japan

Takayuki Okada

Akira Yamagami

Department of Criminal Psychiatry, Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Kandasurugadai 2-3-10, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0062, Japan

Using data collected in Tokyo and Mito, Japan, and in Charlotte, North Carolina, the impact of weapons on the willingness to use violence in a variety of defined scenarios was analyzed. The American sample was twice as likely as the Japanese sample to say they would use a weapon when confronted by a stranger, by a known acquaintance, or if someone illegally entered their homes. The major finding is that the stated willingness to use a weapon is significantly tied to whether one owned a weapon for personal safety and being male in both countries. Logistic regression shows the likelihood of responding to a threat by physical force to be twice as great in Japan and nearly eight times as great in Charlotte if the respondent owned a weapon. These data support the thesis of a weapons effect that influences one’s definition of the situation.

International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, Vol. 44, No. 2, 164-177 (2000)
DOI: 10.1177/0306624X00442003


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