NCJ Number
215695
Journal
Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice Volume: 4 Issue: 4 Dated: October 2006 Pages: 314-327
Date Published
October 2006
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study investigated whether prior victimization and traumatic experiences predicted weapon carrying among a State population of incarcerated youth.
Abstract
Results indicated that although prior victimization and trauma increased the probability of weapon carrying among this population, having been in a gang fight and lifetime polysubstance abuse were the most significant predictors of weapon carrying. The findings suggest that gang prevention and drug abuse prevention would go a long way toward ending the cycle of violence by addressing the main mechanisms underlying the weapon carrying behavior of high-risk youth. Participants were 723 youth incarcerated by the Missouri Division of Youth Services who agreed to complete face-to-face interviews focused on demographic characteristics, lifetime and annual use of drugs, current and lifetime psychiatric symptoms, thoughts of suicide and suicide attempts, trauma history, antisocial traits, and violent and nonviolent criminal activity. Data were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression models. Future research should utilize longitudinal designs and more advanced data analytical methods to uncover the temporal order of weapon carrying and the reciprocal effects of relevant predictor variables. Tables, references