Within-Person Variability in Firearm Carriage Among High-Risk Youth

Youth who carry firearms—and peers that surround them—are at increased risk for violent injuries. Because firearm carriage behaviors can change over time within an individual, it is important to identify individual and social-contextual determinants that explain this within-person variability in car...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of preventive medicine 2020-09, Vol.59 (3), p.386-393
Main Authors: Sokol, Rebeccah L., Carter, Patrick M., Goldstick, Jason, Miller, Alison L., Walton, Maureen A., Zimmerman, Marc A., Cunningham, Rebecca M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior
Adult
Attitudes
Behavior change
Bullying
Crime Victims
Female
Firearms
High risk
Humans
Injuries
Male
Membership
Panel data
Risk Factors
Variability
Victimization
Violence
Wounds, Gunshot
Young Adult
Youth
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Summary:Youth who carry firearms—and peers that surround them—are at increased risk for violent injuries. Because firearm carriage behaviors can change over time within an individual, it is important to identify individual and social-contextual determinants that explain this within-person variability in carriage. The authors identified individual and social-contextual determinants of firearm carriage in the past 6 months using multilevel logistic models on 5 waves of panel data from the Flint Youth Injury Study (n=597; ages 14–24 years), collected in 2009–2011 and analyzed in 2019. Regarding within-person effects, when an individual had more positive peer affiliations than their average, their odds of carrying a firearm decreased (OR=0.88; 95% CI=0.81, 0.96). Conversely, an individual's odds of carrying a firearm increased when they had more negative peer affiliations (OR=1.08, 95% CI=1.02, 1.14), experienced more victimization (OR=1.03, 95% CI=1.01, 1.05), perceived greater community violence (OR=1.12, 95% CI=1.05, 1.21), or exhibited greater retaliatory attitudes (OR=1.10, 95% CI=1.01, 1.19) than their average. Peer affiliations, victimization, community violence perceptions, and retaliatory attitudes explain within-person variability in firearm carriage. Strategies for reducing carriage among youth should consider individual- and environmental-level interventions to address these individual and social-contextual determinants.
ISSN:0749-3797
1873-2607
DOI:10.1016/j.amepre.2020.03.005