Weapon Reference in Threats of Violence: Associations With Risk Factors, Warning Behaviors, and Violent Outcomes

Weapon-related factors are often considered especially concerning in threat assessment, as weapons can facilitate severe violence. However, weapon reference in threatening communications has received limited empirical attention. The present study examined (a) risk factors and warning behaviors associated with weapon reference, (b) whether weapon reference predicts violent outcomes, and (c) whether threats that reference weapons are more credible than threats that do not reference weapons. Participants were North American adults (N = 257) who self-reported making an explicit threat of violence and completed measures assessing threat characteristics, violence risk factors, warning behaviors, and subsequent violent outcomes. Descriptive statistics, chi-square analyses, and logistic regression models were used to examine associations between weapon reference, related factors, and violent outcomes. Weapon reference was associated with a broad range of risk factors and warning behaviors for violence including substance use, gang involvement, violent attitudes, planning, novel aggression, and weapon availability. Results also indicated that weapon reference was associated with significantly greater odds of subsequent violence, although there was often a discrepancy between the details of the threat and the violence that ultimately occurred. These findings support the consideration of weapon reference as an important risk factor and an impetus for further information gathering given its association with other risk factors and violent outcomes.