Carrying and using weapons: A survey of minority junior high school students in New York City

Characteristics of Children in Homes with Guns in a Southern State

This study surveyed parents of second-grade children in a rural area of a southern stare with respect to gun ownership, safety practices, and ratings of social skills and adjustment of their children. Analysis indicated that 60 of the 106 families owned a gun. Twelve (20%) of the gun owners did not safely secure guns and ammunition. On measures of social skills and adjustment, no differences were found between the children of gun owners and nonowners. These data suggest that gun owners in this sample needed more emphasis on safely securing guns and ammunition although incidence of problems was not examined.

The Transmission of Gun and Other Weapon-Involved Violence Within Social Networks

Fatal and nonfatal injuries resulting from gun violence remain a persistent problem in the United States. The available research suggests that gun violence diffuses among people and across places through social relationships. Understanding the relationship between gun violence within social networks and individual gun violence risk is critical in preventing the spread of gun violence within populations. This systematic review examines the existing scientific evidence on the transmission of gun and other weapon-related violence in household, intimate partner, peer, and co-offending networks. Our review identified 16 studies published between 1996 and 2015 that suggest that exposure to a victim or perpetrator of violence in one's interpersonal relationships and social networks increases the risk of individual victimization and perpetration. Formal network analyses find high concentrations of gun violence in small networks and that exposure to gun violence in one's networks is highly correlated with one's own probability of being a gunshot victim. Physical violence by parents and weapon use by intimate partners also increase risk for victimization and perpetration. Additional work is needed to better characterize the mechanisms through which network exposures increase individual risk for violence and to evaluate interventions aimed at disrupting the spread of gun and other weapon violence in high-risk social networks.

Correlates of handgun carrying among adolescents in the United States

Weapon-related violence, especially the use of handguns, among adolescents is a serious public health concern. Using public-use data file from the adolescent sample (N = 17,842) in the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), this study examines the behavioral, parental involvement, and prevention correlates of handgun carrying. Overall, 3.1% of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 reported carrying a handgun in the past year. Results from a series of logistic regression models indicated that males, selling and using illicit drugs, were robustly associated with an increased probability of handgun carrying among adolescents. Furthermore, youth who carry handguns were significantly less likely to report a parent being involved in their lives and were significantly more likely to have encountered violence and drug prevention programming compared with youth who did not carry handguns. Implications of these results for prevention and policy are discussed.

A review of legislation restricting the intersection of firearms and alcohol in the U.S

OBJECTIVES

In the United States, injury is a leading cause of alcohol-related death, and alcohol use is the leading risk factor for injury. We reviewed state and federal legislation regulating the intersection of alcohol and firearms.

METHODS

We examined the current criminal codes of all 50 states and the District of Columbia using the databases Westlaw and LexisNexis to review restrictions on firearm use while intoxicated.

RESULTS

We found three types of laws in 26 states that restrict firearm use by intoxicated people: sales or transfers are restricted in six states, carrying of concealed weapons is restricted in four states, and possession or discharge of a firearm while intoxicated is restricted in 20 states.

CONCLUSIONS

Regulation of the carrying and use of firearms by acutely intoxicated individuals may represent a public health opportunity to reduce firearm-related injury.

Violence-related behaviors among Dominican adolescents: examining the influence of alcohol and marijuana use

This study identified the predictors of youth violence and violent victimization among a sample of Dominican adolescents (N=155) attending high school in a northeastern urban community. As part of a broader community-based needs assessment, students participated in an evaluation of a substance abuse prevention program funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Correlations, principal components, multiple imputation, and stepwise regression analyses were systematically employed to develop a parsimonious model for predicting violence-related behaviors among Dominican youth. Findings suggest that early onset of alcohol and marijuana use was associated with an increased likelihood of engaging in violence-related behaviors or being the victim of a violent act. In addition, students who reported a lowered sense of safety were more likely to be involved in acts of violence. However, adolescents who reported depressive symptoms were less inclined to become involved in violence-related behaviors. Implications for culturally-tailored violence and substance abuse prevention programming efforts are discussed.

Intervening processes between youths' exposure to community violence and internalizing symptoms over time: the roles of social support and coping

The roles of social support and coping as intervening processes between exposure to community violence and internalizing symptoms were examined longitudinally among a community sample of 667 middle school students in the inner city. After controlling for potential confounders (e.g., social desirability, victimization and witnessing of family violence, guardian's psychological symptomatology), internalizing symptoms at Year 2 were predicted by hypothesized changes over 1 year, such that increased community violence exposure, decreased guardian and peer support, and increased use of defensive and confrontational behavioral coping were related to more internalizing symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD, although some of these relations varied by gender. The relations between internalizing symptoms at Year 3 and increased changes in exposure to community violence over 2 years were moderated by social support and/or coping, such that decreased guardian support and increased use of defensive and confrontational coping were generally associated with more symptoms for boys exposed to community violence. Girls who witnessed increased community violence and who increased their use of defensive or confrontational coping experienced more internalizing symptoms. The findings underscore the importance of developmental and contextual considerations in the design and implementation of interventions.

Maltreatment history and weapon carrying among early adolescents

This study examines the role of maltreatment in weapon carrying among 12-year-old youth (N = 797) interviewed as part of the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN), an ongoing study of the antecedents and consequences of child maltreatment. Participants reported their physical and sexual abuse history and provided responses to items assessing perceived need for a weapon and weapon carrying. There were no gender differences in rates of self-reported physical or sexual abuse. Males were more likely than females to report weapon carrying and perceived need for a weapon. A mediation analysis was conducted to examine the mediating effect of perceived need for a weapon on the association between abuse and weapon carrying. Results indicated that perceived need for a weapon fully mediated the effect of physical abuse and partially mediated the effect of sexual abuse. Results are discussed in the context of self-protection theory.

Unsupervised firearm handling by California adolescents

OBJECTIVE

Relatively little is known about the behavior of adolescents around firearms. The present investigation was undertaken to estimate the proportion of community-residing adolescents who report that they have ever handled a gun without adult knowledge or supervision.

METHODS

A random digit dial interview was conducted with 5801 California adolescents as part of the California Health Interview Survey. Respondents were asked whether they have ever held a gun and whether they have ever done so without adult knowledge or supervision. Study design and population weights were applied to these data. In addition, adolescents' reports about the most recent unsupervised handling incident were coded to ascertain what they were doing with the gun as well as with whom and where the incident occurred.

RESULTS

One third (33%) of California adolescents report that they have handled a firearm; 5% report that they have done so without adult knowledge or supervision. Half (49%) of all unsupervised handling involved shooting and only 11% occurred in the respondent's home. Several demographic variables (being male, African American, living in a rural area) and risk behaviors (smoking, drinking, being the victim of a gun related threat), as well as having a gun in the home and parents not knowing the adolescent's whereabouts in the afternoon were each associated with unsupervised gun handling.

CONCLUSIONS

Unsupervised gun handling is associated with other health risk behaviors. Unsupervised gun handling typically involves shooting the gun and usually occurs with friends, away from the home.

Adolescents and firearms: a California statewide survey

OBJECTIVES

We assessed the prevalence and correlates of adolescents' reports regarding firearms in their homes, of their own, of close friends, and of same-aged peers.

METHODS

Random-digit-dialed interviews were conducted with 5801 adolescents as part of the California Health Interview Survey.

RESULTS

One fifth (19.6%) of California adolescents reported having a firearm in their homes; few (3.0%) reported having their own gun. Characteristics associated with having one's own gun and with perceptions regarding others' guns generally were consistent with characteristics associated with having a firearm in the home. The 2 exceptions were related to socioeconomic status and to ethnicity.

CONCLUSIONS

The source from which adolescents obtain guns, especially adolescents from less wealthy households, merits further investigation. Further research is needed to ascertain the accuracy of Black and Latino adolescents' perceptions regarding handguns among their peers.

Violent behaviors in early adolescent minority youth: results from a "middle school youth risk behavior survey"

OBJECTIVES

To describe the prevalence and characteristics of violence and violence-related behaviors among six populations of U.S. minority adolescents in grades 6-8.

METHODS

Six thousand four hundred non-White adolescents were recruited from six sites that were part of a collaborative project. Surveys were administered either during the school day or at community facilities. All students at each site were asked 10 questions about recent violence-related behaviors (including use of threats, fighting, weapon carrying, and weapon use). Prevalence of each violence-related behavior was reported within and across sites, and stratified by race/ethnicity, gender, age, and other characteristics expected to influence the behaviors.

RESULTS

Sixty-six percent (66%) of the middle school students sampled reported being involved in some type of recent fighting and/or weapon-related behaviors. Sixty-one percent (61%) indicated some form of fighting behavior in the past 3 months (threatening to beat someone up, physical fighting, and/or being hurt in a fight). Thirty percent (30%) of participating youth reported one or more weapon-related behaviors (threatening to use a weapon, carrying a weapon, using a weapon, and/or being cut, stabbed or shot at). Reported gun carrying among males varied depending upon site, but was as high as 20%. Grade in school was positively associated with reported violent behaviors. Adolescents who reported living full-time with a parent or parent figure, and those who reported religious observance or beliefs, were less likely to report violence involvement. All violence-related behaviors were more common among male than female adolescents.

CONCLUSIONS

Violence prevention efforts should begin in elementary school and continue throughout adolescence. Programs should be prepared to provide services or referrals to victims of violence, implement programs tailored toward females as well as males, and build partnerships with churches and other community organizations in which youth are involved.

Involving men in reproductive health: the Young Men's Clinic

OBJECTIVES

This report describes the population of young men who use the Young Men's Clinic in New York City, presents a profile of their reproductive behaviors, and describes the clinic's model of service delivery.

METHODS

Data were gathered through a routine clinic visit form administered by clinic staff.

RESULTS

The clinic sees approximately 1200 predominately Dominican young men each year for a wide range of clinical and mental health services. Two thirds of clients had ever been sexually active, three quarters had ever used birth control, and 69% had used birth control at their last sexual encounter.

CONCLUSIONS

The Young Men's Clinic may serve as a model for health care delivery to adolescent and young adult males.

Breaking the cycle of violence among youth living in metropolitan Atlanta: a case history of kids alive and loved

More teenagers in the United States die from gunshot wounds than from all natural causes of disease combined. Firearm-related mortality accounts for almost half of all deaths among African American teens. Residents of central cities have the highest probability of experiencing violent crimes. This article describes an innovative community-based intervention designed to break the cycle of violence among youth in metropolitan Atlanta. The intervention, Kids Alive and Loved (KAL), emerged from the African American community as one mother's response to the violent death of her 17-year-old son. The authors describe how her response to tragedy gave birth to a culturally appropriate intervention for youth exposed to violence. This article delineates the evolution of KAL, the role of community partners in the design of the intervention, and how diffusion of innovation theory has implications for understanding the KAL approach to breaking the cycle of violence.

Conceptualizing vulnerable populations health-related research

BACKGROUND

A conceptual model for vulnerable populations research relates resource availability and relative risk to health status. The model has a population-based focus that places responsibility for the collective health status of its citizens with the community. Vulnerable populations are social groups who experience limited resources and consequent high relative risk for morbidity and premature mortality. There is considerable research evidence to support the major relationships in the model. Conceptual links that need additional research are identified.

CONCLUSIONS

The implications for research include a variety of methodological problems related to recruiting and retaining participants, instrumentation, and data collection. Research designs are needed that move beyond descriptive and epidemiological approaches to interventional and outcome studies. Ethical considerations take on special significance with vulnerable populations.

The development, reliability, and validity of a risk factor screening survey for urban minority junior high school students

PURPOSE

To develop and evaluate a risk factor screening survey as a mechanism to identify inner-city junior high school students who may benefit from medical or mental health services available in school-based clinics.

METHODS

A 36-item health risk factor screening survey was developed and administered to 3,787 predominantly Hispanic students from four schools in an economically disadvantaged, medically underserved New York City school district. Students who indicated that they were experiencing one of five major risk factors (suicidality, sexual activity, parental or guardian substance use, personal substance use, or having run away) were scheduled to visit the clinic for services, and to have their survey responses validated by clinic interview.

RESULTS

The development of the screening tool resulted in a short, easy to read and understand survey instrument that was feasible to administer within a classroom setting. The reliability of the instrument was excellent, and the results of the validity study indicated that it was successful in identifying students who did not need clinic services. The screening tool produced mixed results in identifying those truly in need through single item identification (e.g., produced a moderate number of "false positives"), although combining items on the screening tool produced much higher positive predictive values.

CONCLUSIONS

This screening tool can be used to effectively focus limited clinical resources on those in need. Outreach surveys of this type should be considered as a valuable component of a school-based clinic service delivery strategy.