Neighborhood Predictors of Concealed Firearm Carrying Among Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Youth are less likely to carry concealed firearms in areas where there is less violence and increased safety. Interventions to improve neighborhood conditions such as increasing safety, improving collective efficacy, and reducing social and physical disorder may be efficacious in preventing firearm use and its associated injuries and death among youth.

Weapon Involvement in the Victimization of Children

“…1,2 Each year, youth homicides and assault-related injuries result in an estimated $16 million in combined medical and work loss costs. Despite its relevance to public health, extant research on youth firearm exposure has focused on weapon carrying as the primary focus of exposure.…”

Weapon-carrying and the reduction of violent harm

“…More convincingly, Haegerich et al (2014) found a negative relationship between informal social control and weapon-carrying and Molnar et al (2004) found that collective efficacy -a combination of social cohesion and informal social controlwas a strong protective factor against weapon-carrying. Finally, Molnar et al (2004) have shown that visible neighbourhood physical and social disorder are positively associated with weapon-carrying, but Haegerich et al (2014) found no relationship between the two. In summary, the evidence for a link between neighbourhood and violence is moderated by the perceived level of violence rather than more tangible factors such as economic deprivation.…”

“…Demographic risk factors: Males are two (McVie 2010;Hemenway et al 2011) to five (Molnar et al 2004;Tigri et al 2016) times more likely to report carrying a weapon than females and weapon-carrying tends to peaks in mid-adolescence (Swahn et al 2013;Haegerich et al 2014;Hemenway et al 2011;Ilie et al 2016).…”

“…Studies that have directly compared ethnic groups have found that minority groups are at heightened risk of carrying a weapon compared to white respondents (Hemenway et al 2011;Molnar et al 2004;Swahn et al 2013). The risk associated with socioeconomic factors is unclear because household income is rarely well-captured in self-report surveys completed by young people.…”

A Three-Generational Study of Risk Factors for Childhood Externalizing Behavior among African Americans and Puerto Ricans

“…18,19 Externalizing behaviors among children in these neighborhoods may be "adaptive" reactions to the perception of a hostile and stressful environment, 20 the role-modeling of normative neighborhood behavior, 21 or due to the absence of collective efficacy, wherein neighborhood adults share and uphold prosocial values. [22][23][24] In addition, individuals who experience symptoms of intrapersonal distress, such as depressive mood or drug use, may selectively move into or remain in more deteriorated neighborhoods with elevated rates of criminal activity. 13 The Child's Externalizing Behavior Externalizing problems during childhood have been associated with numerous poor outcomes which may be manifest from adolescence to adulthood, e.g., substance use, 25,26 anti-social behavior, 7 psychopathology, 27 sexual risk-taking, 28 academic failure, 5,29 and employment problems.…”