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.
75. Unsupervised firearm handling by adolescents
We analyzed data from a telephone survey of over 5,800 California adolescents conducted in 2000-01.
Major findings: One-third of adolescents reported handling a firearm, 5% without adult supervision or knowledge. Smoking, drinking and parents not knowing the child’s whereabouts in the afternoon were associated with unsupervised gun handling. These events usually occur away from home, with friends. Half involve shooting the gun.
Publication: Miller, Matthew; Hemenway, David. “Unsupervised Firearm Handling by California Adolescents.” Injury Prevention. 2004; 10:163-68.
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
