Guns as a “Strategy of Action”: Childhood Socialization, Racial Resentment, and Gun Ownership

• In Event: Firearm Ownership, Carrying, and Education

Abstract

One of the most robust determinants of adult gun ownership is whether one grew up around firearms during their childhood. However, scholars have yet to examine how this socialization process might condition the relationship between other theoretically relevant variables and gun ownership. To address this research void, we use Ann Swidler’s (1986) cultural toolkit framework to examine the role of childhood socialization in moderating the relationship between racial resentment and gun ownership. Specifically, we theorize that while racial resentment will influence attitudes toward gun ownership, whether these attitudes generate action will depend on prior gun socialization—i.e., whether firearms are part of one’s cultural toolkit. To accomplish our research objectives, we used data from the Team Content of Harvard University’s 2020 Cooperative Election Study (CES), a national sample of 853 U.S. adults. Our results speak loudly to the need for centering childhood socialization experiences in research examining motivations for adult gun ownership. The specific findings and their implications will be discussed.

Authors

• Nathaniel Schutten, SUNY Plattsburgh

• Kevin Wozniak, National University of Ireland Maynooth

• Elizabeth Brown, University of Massachusetts Boston