46-47. Adolescent gun carrying (a)
We surveyed 7th and 10th graders in inner city schools in Boston and Milwaukee.
Major findings: Almost a quarter of 7th grade boys had already carried a gun, illegally. The overwhelming reason for carrying was self-protection. While guns were easily acquired, the large majority of respondents, and even the majority of those who had already carried a gun, wanted to live in a society where it was impossible for teens to get guns.
Publication: Hemenway, David; Prothrow-Stith, Deborah, Bergstein, Jack M; Ander, Roseanna; Kennedy, Bruce. "Gun Carrying among Adolescents." Law and Contemporary Problems. 1996; 59:39-53.
Publication: Bergstein, Jack M; Hemenway, David; Kennedy, Bruce; Quaday, Sher; Ander, Roseanna. "Guns in Young Hands: A Survey of Urban Teenagers' Attitudes and Behaviors related to Handgun Violence." Journal of Trauma. 1996; 41:794-798
48. Adolescent gun carrying (b)
Using data from the Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior survey, we analyzed risk factors for adolescent gun carrying.
Major findings: A simple objective measure--whether a student is old for their grade--is an important predictor of gun carrying. This fact may help clinicians identify high-risk students and target prevention strategies.
Publication: Hayes, D Neil; Hemenway, David. "Age-within-School-Class and Adolescent Gun Carrying." Pediatrics electronic pages. 1999; 103:e64.
49. Adolescent gun carrying (c)
We analyzed data from over 1800 youth in Chicago.
Major findings: Aspects of the neighborhood (social disorder, safety, collective efficacy) were important predictors of illegal gun carrying by youth.
Publication: Molnar, Beth; Miller, Matthew; Azrael, Deborah; Buka Steven. "Neighborhood Predictors of Concealed Firearm Carrying among Children and Adolescents." Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine. 2004; 158:657-64.
50. Gun carrying and road rage, Arizona
Using data from a telephone survey in Arizona, we examined the relationship between road rage and gun carrying in motor vehicles.
Major findings: Self-reported hostile actions (e.g. obscene gestures, cursing or shouting, aggressively tailgating) were more common among men, young adults, and individuals who carried a firearm in their car.
Publication: Miller, Matthew; Azrael, Deborah; Hemenway, David; Solop, Frederic I. "Road Rage in Arizona: Armed and Dangerous?" Accident Analysis and Prevention. 2002; 34:807-814.
51. Gun carrying and road rage, US
Over 2,400 licensed drivers responded to questions about their own aggressive driving in a 2004 national random digit dial survey.
Major findings: Seventeen percent of respondents admitted to making obscene or rude gestures in the past year, and another 9% admitted to aggressively following too closely. Males, young adults, binge drinkers, those ever arrested for a non-traffic violation, and motorists who had been in a vehicle in which there was a gun, were more likely to engage in such forms of road rage.
Publication: Hemenway, David; Vriniotis, Mary; Miller, Matthew. "Is an Armed Society a Polite Society? Guns and Road Rage" Accident Analysis and Prevention. 2006; 38:687-95.
52. Gun carrying and drug selling
We analyzed data from interviews of over 200 young men and women at the Rhode Island Correctional Institution.Major findings: Selling crack was highly associated with gun carrying; using hard drugs was not. Findings provide further evidence of a crack-gun connection.
Publication: Kacanek, Deborah; Hemenway, David. "Gun Carrying and Drug Selling Among Youth Incarcerated Men and Women." Journal of Urban Health. 2006; 83:266-74.
92. Students wildly overestimate the level of peer gun carrying; those who overestimate the most are more likely to carry
Data from high school students in Boston find that, as with smoking, drinking and sex, students widely overestimate the amount of gun carrying by their peers. Since most students carry for protection, this overestimate appears to lead to more gun carrying.
Publication: Hemenway D, Vriniotis M, Johnson RM, Miller M, Azrael D. Gun carrying by high school students in Boston, MA: does overestimation of peer gun carrying matter? Journal of Adolescence. on line before print: doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.11.008
