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Abstract
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To explore weapon carrying among young, inner-city adolescents, a survey was administered in fall 1993 to 2005 predominately Hispanic students (mean age = 12.8 years) in three New York City junior high schools. The survey revealed that 21% of students reported personally carrying a weapon; guns and knives were the weapons most commonly carried. Most of those who carried guns reported that they bought them. Forty-two percent indicated that they had a family member or close friend who had been shot. Boys and older students were more likely to report carrying weapons. Preventive efforts may need to begin before or on entry into junior high school rather than high school.
VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The aim of this study, by Vaughan et al., was to determine the extent to which inner-city minority youth carry and use weapons.
METHODOLOGY:
A non-experimental design was used. In 1993, an anonymous survey was administered to 2005 predominantly Hispanic students in three New York City junior high schools. The surveys were distributed and collected during a regularly scheduled class time and lasted about 15 minutes. Trained interviewers read the questions as the students completed the questionnaire. Five percent of the parents did not allow their child to participate and 25% were absent the day the survey was administered. The sample included both male and female students whose average age was about 12, but ranged from 11 to 15. Most of the youth were Dominican 80%, 6.3% were other Hispanics, 4.3% were Black, and 9.4% other.
The questionnaire included demographic items, carrying weapon items, and friends who carry weapons items. Some examples included"Where did you get the weapon?," "When do you most commonly carry the weapon?," and "Where did friends get the weapon." The reliability and validity of the questionnaire were not noted.
The analysis conducted by the researchers included descriptive statistics, odds ratios, and logistic regression.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
The authors found that 20% of the students in the junior high schools surveyed had carried a weapon. Of the respondents who reported carrying a weapon, about half reported carrying a knife and a quarter of them reported carrying a gun. That is, 10% of all respondents reported carrying a knife and 5% carrying a gun. The main method of acquisition for youth that carried a gun was buying it.
Reports of carrying a weapon differed by age and gender. As expected, boys were more likely than girls to report carrying a weapon or that their friend had carried a weapon. In terms of age, the odds of carrying a weapon were 8.3 times greater for a 15-year-old than for a 11-year-old. The odds of carrying a gun were even greater; they were 33.2 times greater for a 15-year-old than for a 11-year-old.
They also found associations between carrying a weapon and accessibility/availability, weapon use, and knowing someone who had been shot. Specifically, respondents who reported having a gun in their house were 4.7 times more likely than their counterparts to carry a weapon. Respondents who reported that a close friend or family member had been shot were 2.7 times as likely than their counterparts to carry a weapon. Those who reported that their friends carried a weapon were 16.0 times as likely than their counterparts to carry a weapon. Respondents who reported that they carried a weapon were 9.0 times as likely as their counterparts to indicate that they had used a weapon on another person. Finally, respondents who reported having had a close friend or relative who had been shot were 2.8 times as likely than their counterparts to report that they had used a weapon on another person.
The authors included the limitations of the study. They suggested that the findings are not generalizable to students with different demographic backgrounds or to youth who drop out or are continually absent from school. The findings may be underestimating the level of gun use and carrying among these junior high school aged youth. Additionally, they recognized that there may be self-reporting bias. Nonetheless, these findings are important when compared to the national rates.
The results of this study suggested that New York City Dominican junior high school youth seem to carry and use weapons earlier than the norm as suggested by the national rates. The authors suggest that this population may need increased attention if the nation expects to reduce adolescent weapon carrying. Additionally, since some youth carry weapons as early as junior high, educating youth as early as possible seems critical for prevention; for this population educating youth prior to or during the first year of junior high would be preferable.
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
Three preventive measures were emphasized. First, the authors suggested that we focus on making schools a safer environment. Second, socioeconomic factors also need to be addressed so that institutions meet the needs of this population. Third, in addition to making schools a safer environment, schools also need to be instrumental in helping youth cope with the effects of exposure to violence that many of this youth experience. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - Hispanic Child
KW - Hispanic Juvenile
KW - Juvenile Weapons Carrying
KW - Juvenile Firearms Carrying
KW - Child Firearms Carrying
KW - Child Weapons Carrying
KW - Late Childhood
KW - Early Adolescence
KW - New York
KW - Junior High School Student
KW - Urban Youth
KW - Urban School
KW - Firearms Carrying Incidence and Prevalence
KW - Weapons Carrying Incidence and Prevalence
Language: en |