Perceived Gun Access and Gun Carrying Among Male Adolescent Offenders

• NCJ Number: 254392
• Journal: Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice Dated: 2019
• Author(s): Spencer Keil; Jordan Beardslee; Carol Schubert; Edward Mulvey; Dustin A Pardini
• Date Published: 2019
• Length: 9 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2007-MU-FX-0002
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Using data collected between 2000 and 2006 in the Pathways to Desistance Study, the current study examined the effects of perceived access to guns in a sample of adolescent offenders.

Abstract

Gun violence takes a significant toll on adolescents in the United States, and there is a lack of longitudinal research on perceptual factors that drive gun carrying. Notably, there is no information on the relationship between perception of gun accessibility and gun carrying. In the current study, a generalized estimating equations approach tested the effect of perceived gun access, along with other known risk factors for gun carrying across time. Even after adjusting for these other risk factors, perceived gun access was significantly related to future carrying. These findings support self-reported gun availability as a significant, population-based risk factor related to gun carrying in high-risk youth. Further research on how perceived access mediates the decision to carry guns would be valuable for formulating effective gun policy. (publisher abstract modified)