Guns are for Cowards?: A Test of Competing Hypotheses Concerning Gun Ownership and Fear

• In Event: A Deeper Understanding of the Intersection of Firearms and Health

Abstract

In this paper, we use national cross-sectional data from the 2014 Chapman University
Survey on American Fears (n = 1,385) to examine the association between gun ownership and
fear. We build on previous work by testing competing hypotheses with a broad range of fear
related outcomes, including specific phobias and fears associated with being victimized. The
symptom perspective argues that gun ownership is an expression of fear. Binary logistic
regression models provided almost no evidence to support this idea. The palliative perspective
claims that gun ownership mitigates fear. Ordinary least squares and negative binomial
regression models confirm that people who own guns tend to report lower levels of phobias and
victimization fears than people who do not own guns. This general pattern is observed across
multiple indicators of fear (e.g., of animals, heights, zombies, and muggings), multiple outcome
specifications (continuous and count), and with adjustments for wide range of control variables.

Authors

• Benjamin Dowd-Arrow, Florida State University

• Terrence D. Hill, The University of Arizona

• Amy M. Burdette, Florida State University