NCJ Number
182124
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 44 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2000 Pages: 164-177
Editor(s)
George B. Palermo M.D.
Date Published
April 2000
Length
14 pages
Annotation
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.
Abstract
As part of a larger project comparing social and cultural features of violence in Japan and the United States, the threshold of violence was investigated by having respondents react to a series of scenarios in terms of what they or the police would or should do under the circumstances. The three scenarios involved a threat on the street, a threat at home by a drunken acquaintance, and a threat at home by a stranger. In both countries, a survey instrument was mailed to the sample, with a response rate of 30.3 percent in Japan and 29.4 percent in the United States. American respondents were twice as likely as Japanese respondents to say they would use a weapon when confronted by a stranger, by a known acquaintance, or if someone illegally entered their homes. The stated willingness to use a weapon was significantly related to whether one owned a weapon for personal safety and being male in both countries. Logistic regression showed 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. Data support the thesis of a weapons effect that influences one's definition of the situation. 15 references, 1 note, and 7 tables