Studies that consider attitudes towards guns have unilaterally relied on scales that treat guns as autonomous objects. The Gun
Attitude Scale (GAS), development and replication results reported herein, takes into account one’s comfort with gun use.
Exploratory factor analysis results indicated and confirmatory factor analysis confirmed, χ 2 = 96.64, df = 26, p < 0.001, CFI =
0.95, SRMR = 0.05, the presence of one subscale, the General GAS (9 items, explaining 52.97% of the total variance). Analyses
of the psychometric properties of the scale indicated that the GAS is a valid and reliable measure of gun attitudes (i.e., test-retest
r’s greater than 0.80). The GAS is the first scale that adequately addresses an individual’s believed ability to use a gun.
Researchers wishing to understand the role of attitude towards guns in multivariate models would benefit from using the GAS
in their studies.

EB00000003334K

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• Development of a psychometrically valid gun attitude scale