Safe Place Fall Youth Survey – Attitudes Toward Guns and Violence (SPFYS-ATGV)
Measures youth attitudes and beliefs regarding guns, physical violence, and gang involvement.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Safe Place Fall Youth Survey – Attitudes Toward Guns and Violence (SPFYS-ATGV) was developed by Safe & Sound, Inc. (2013). It is designed to measure Attitudes toward guns, violence, and gangs. The scale is intended for use with Adolescents and youth.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 20 items organized into 3 factors/subscales: Attitudes Toward Violence, Attitudes Toward Guns, Attitudes Toward Gangs.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Attitudes Toward Violence | 1,2,5,9,12,13,15,17 | 8 |
| Attitudes Toward Guns | 3,4,6,7,8,10,11,14,18,19 | 10 |
| Attitudes Toward Gangs | 16,20 | 2 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 0 = Disagree, 1 = Not Sure, 2 = Agree.
The scale includes 5 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 0 to 40. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low support for guns and violence: 0 – 13
- Moderate support for guns and violence: 14 – 26
- High support for guns and violence: 27 – 40
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Not reported.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.