The Attitudes Towards Violence Scale

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Abstract
The incidence and lethality of youth violence is escalating, leading to the development of violence prevention programs. Some have attempted to “resensitize” individuals to violence. The Attitudes Towards Violence Scale was designed to assess the impact of such interventions. The Scale demonstrates good internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha=.86) and a meaningful twofactor solution: Reactive Violence (violence used in response to actual or perceived threat) and Culture of Violence (a pervasive, ingrained identification with violence as an acceptable and valued activity). Being male, being of a non-European American ethnicity, or being a victim of violence predicted endorsement of proviolence attitudes. The Attitudes Towards Violence Scale may be useful in targeting interventions according to preexisting attitudinal dispositions.