Date of Award

Fall 12-16-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Sociology

First Advisor

Andrew Lindner

Second Advisor

Jennifer Mueller

Abstract

As mass shootings events continue to occur with alarming frequency in the United States, scholars search for explanations, turning frequently to a dynamic referred to as aggrieved entitlement to explain why shooters are so often white men. This study attempts to continue work expanding the concept of aggrieved entitlement and its applicability across continuums of violence by proposing a preliminary quantitative measure for the dynamic. Survey data from the 1996 General Social Survey is utilized to create an index of aggrieved entitlement which is then compared with sex, race, region, and religion. It is hypothesized that on an index of aggrieved entitlement individuals who are white will score higher than those who are not white, individuals who are male will score higher than those who are female, and individuals who are both white and male will score higher than those who are only white, only male, or neither. The study yielded no statistically significant correlation between the aggrieved entitlement index and gender or race, offering no concrete support for any hypotheses. This study does, however, indicate that future, more effective quantitative measures of aggrieved entitlement could be both plausible in execution and useful in broadening the application of the concept.

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