Citation

Yang Y, Salinas-Miranda A, Coulter M, Liller KD. Violence Gend. 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Mary Ann Liebert Publishers)

DOI

10.1089/vio.2019.0024

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine the complex interplay between community, family, and individual factors associated with weapon carrying behaviors at school among youth in Florida through structural equation modeling (SEM). This study utilized an existing dataset, the 2015 Youth Outreach Survey, which was collected from youth (n = 26,515) in public middle and high schools in Hillsborough County, Florida. SEM with robust maximum likelihood estimation was used to test a conceptual model of weapon carrying behaviors at school, consisting of two community factors (neighborhood problems and social cohesion), a family factor (adult caring relationships at home), and an individual factor (substance use). Approximately 3.9% of youth reported bringing a gun on school property, 5.1% brought knives, and 6.4% indicated that they have attended school with other weapons. In the SEM model, the strongest direct association with weapon carrying was substance use (β = 0.41), followed by neighborhood problems (β = 0.18). For indirect effects, neighborhood problems were positively associated with substance use (β = 0.15) and inversely related to social cohesion (β = −0.29). Social cohesion had a strong positive association with adult caring relationships (β = 0.41), while adult caring relationships were negatively associated with substance use (β = −0.24). This study shows a protective factor of weapon carrying behaviors among youth by moderating neighborhood problems and substance use. Substance use is a strong risk factor for youth that can reinforce the association between neighborhood problems and weapon carrying. Future research should assess more direct and indirect factors associated with weapon carrying behaviors.

Language: en