Despite a historical gender gap in firearm ownership favoring men, women represent a growing consumer base, particularly young, White, and Republican women, whose ownership rates have risen significantly in the past decade. Safety concerns are among the most frequently cited reasons women acquire firearms, and the gun industry strategically exploits these concerns through fear-based narratives and gun myths that frame firearms as the best means of protecting oneself and family.
The present study, presented as a poster at the 2026 Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Pre-Extremism Conference, focuses on young White women to examine the psychological factors and gun myth endorsement that may place non-owners at greater risk of future acquisition, and to understand what personal, psychological, and ideological characteristics motivate them to consider gun ownership.
