NCJ Number
223066
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 36 Issue: 2 Dated: May/June 2008 Pages: 154-164
Date Published
May 2008
Length
11 pages
Annotation
In order to provide a better understanding of the etiology in the presence of guns in schools, this study explored whether or not social correlates that relate to carrying other weapons for protection and to carrying guns for protection were the same, and that when they shared a correlation, whether the strength of the correlations was the same or not.
Abstract
Results indicate that factors explaining other weapons carrying are not necessarily able to explain gun carrying to school for protection. The variables correlated with carrying other weapons to school were one’s involvement in physical fights, having peers carrying guns, knowing others’ use of illegal drugs, skipping school, and gang presence at school. Age and gender were also related to carrying other weapons to school with older teenagers and boys being more likely than girls. Carrying a gun to school for protection, however, was only related to one’s involvement in physical fights, having peers brining guns to school, and being male. Although gun violence in schools is rare, it has devastating consequences when it occurs. Due to the strong public reaction to the presence of guns in schools, a better understanding of the etiology of such behavior is warranted. This study focused on the reasons why adolescents bring guns to schools. It is argued that the etiology for carrying other weapons to school is not the same as that for carrying a gun to school for protection. Data from a nationally representative sample of school youth were analyzed with an appropriate analytic technique, multinomial logistic regression in dealing with nominal dependent variable. Tables, appendix A, notes, and references