NCJ Number
169545
Journal
Law and Contemporary Problems Volume: 59 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1996) Pages: 39-53
Date Published
1996
Length
15 pages
Annotation
After reporting on the methodology and findings of a survey on gun-carrying by juveniles in two northern cities, this paper explains and applies the public health contagion model and provides policy suggestions for reducing gun-carrying among adolescents.
Abstract
In the spring of 1995, an in-class survey was conducted to provide baseline data for an evaluation of gun-carrying by students. The survey was administered to seventh-grade and tenth- grade students at 12 inner-city schools in two large cities in the Northeast and Midwest. Responses were obtained from 752 seventh-graders and 440 tenth-graders. Because responses did not differ significantly between the two cities, the results were combined for reporting purposes. The survey focused on whether or not the respondent had ever carried a gun and if so, the reasons for deciding to carry a gun for the first time. Seventeen percent of the seventh-graders and tenth-graders had carried a concealed gun. The reason given for gun-carrying was overwhelmingly self-protection; however, apparently the carrying of firearms makes other students feel less safe, which increases the likelihood that the fearful students will in turn secure and carry guns. This study suggests the importance of both supply- side and demand-side approaches to reducing adolescent gun- carrying. Supply-side efforts to make firearms less available to inner-city teens have the support of the students in the study. The large majority of respondents would prefer to live in a world where it is not only very difficult but impossible for juveniles to obtain guns. The study also suggests possible demand-side policies that might prove effective in reducing gun-carrying by inner-city adolescents. These policies include encouraging frank family discussions about firearms, providing training in conflict resolution to juveniles, and targeting interventions to youth who engage in other high-risk behaviors. Measures that increase teen safety and decrease the need for self-protection are essential in reducing adolescent gun-carrying. The results of contagion modeling suggest that small initial changes in gun-carrying can have multiplicative effects. 4 tables and 34 footnotes