Weapons carrying in British teenagers: the role of personality, delinquency, sensational interests, and mating effort

It has been suggested that weapon carrying by adolescents reflects status display, intra-sexual competition, and mating effort. We investigated links between weapon carrying, delinquency, personality, sensational interests, and mating effort in 121 adolescents (M:F = 62:59; mean age = 15.7 years, SD = 2.12). Logistic regression found four predictors of weapon carrying; aggressive identity (OR = .30, 95% CI=.16 – 0.57, p < .001); delinquency (OR = 1.11, 95% CI=1.04 – 1.19, p < .05); low conscientiousness (OR = .80, 95% CI = .68 – .95); and greater military interests (OR=1.22, 95% CI=1.03 – 1.45). Effects of gender, age, hostility, and mating effort on weapon carrying were subsumed by delinquency. These results suggest adolescent weapon carriers tend to be more irresponsible, delinquent, and have a greater interest in aggressive display. However, attitudes to weapon carrying did not explicitly reflect status display, which was primarily attributed to weapon carriers by non-weapon carriers.

Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology

Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology

17

1478-9949

N/A

1

20