Prevalence of Gun Carrying and Gun Violence Victimization and Perpetration Among a Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Youth and Young Adults
Introduction: Guns were one of the leading causes of death in children and youth aged 0–24 years in the U.S. over the last decade, with large variations by sex, race, region, and income. This paper examines the rates of gun involvement for a group of youth and young adults in the U.S. from ages 10 y...
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Elsevier
2025-02-01
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| author | Bruce G. Taylor, PhD Kimberly J. Mitchell, PhD Heather A. Turner, PhD Jackie Sheridan-Johnson, MPH Elizabeth A. Mumford, PhD |
| author_facet | Bruce G. Taylor, PhD Kimberly J. Mitchell, PhD Heather A. Turner, PhD Jackie Sheridan-Johnson, MPH Elizabeth A. Mumford, PhD |
| author_sort | Bruce G. Taylor, PhD |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: Guns were one of the leading causes of death in children and youth aged 0–24 years in the U.S. over the last decade, with large variations by sex, race, region, and income. This paper examines the rates of gun involvement for a group of youth and young adults in the U.S. from ages 10 years to 34 years across major demographic and background factors. Methods: This is a cross-sectional nationally representative survey of participants recruited through an ongoing national research panel. Completed surveys were collected from 5,311 participants from September 2023 to January 2024. Results: Lifetime rates for carrying guns were 26.7%, gun violence victimization rates were 9.5%, and gun violence perpetration rates were 3.3%. High levels of past-year involvement with guns and gun violence were observed, with 13.9% carrying guns, gun violence victimization of 2.5%, and gun violence perpetration of 0.9%. Even more concerning, data indicate that 7.6% of the participants reported carrying a gun before age 18 years, 5.2% experienced gun violence victimization, and 1.8% perpetrated gun violence. Gun carrying and violence were higher by demographics, with a statistically significant difference for all demographic subgroups on at least 1 gun outcome. Conclusions: High levels of exposure to guns and gun violence are experienced among a nationally representative population of young Americans, with rates varying considerably by demographic factors. On the basis of these demographic disparities in gun involvement, more work is needed to address community and other risk and protective factors across different levels of the social ecology, such as structural inequities associated with gun violence. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b622c2a03ce64cc9ba2f2d055b7df479 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2773-0654 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | AJPM Focus |
| spelling | doaj-art-b622c2a03ce64cc9ba2f2d055b7df4792025-08-20T02:21:09ZengElsevierAJPM Focus2773-06542025-02-014110029410.1016/j.focus.2024.100294Prevalence of Gun Carrying and Gun Violence Victimization and Perpetration Among a Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Youth and Young AdultsBruce G. Taylor, PhD0Kimberly J. Mitchell, PhD1Heather A. Turner, PhD2Jackie Sheridan-Johnson, MPH3Elizabeth A. Mumford, PhD4NORC at the University of Chicago, Bethesda, Maryland; Address correspondence to: Bruce Taylor, PhD, NORC at the University of Chicago, 4350 East-West Highway, 8th Floor, Bethesda MD 20814.Crimes against Children Research Center (CCRC), University of New Hampshire, Durham, New HampshireCrimes against Children Research Center (CCRC), University of New Hampshire, Durham, New HampshireNORC at the University of Chicago, Bethesda, MarylandNORC at the University of Chicago, Bethesda, MarylandIntroduction: Guns were one of the leading causes of death in children and youth aged 0–24 years in the U.S. over the last decade, with large variations by sex, race, region, and income. This paper examines the rates of gun involvement for a group of youth and young adults in the U.S. from ages 10 years to 34 years across major demographic and background factors. Methods: This is a cross-sectional nationally representative survey of participants recruited through an ongoing national research panel. Completed surveys were collected from 5,311 participants from September 2023 to January 2024. Results: Lifetime rates for carrying guns were 26.7%, gun violence victimization rates were 9.5%, and gun violence perpetration rates were 3.3%. High levels of past-year involvement with guns and gun violence were observed, with 13.9% carrying guns, gun violence victimization of 2.5%, and gun violence perpetration of 0.9%. Even more concerning, data indicate that 7.6% of the participants reported carrying a gun before age 18 years, 5.2% experienced gun violence victimization, and 1.8% perpetrated gun violence. Gun carrying and violence were higher by demographics, with a statistically significant difference for all demographic subgroups on at least 1 gun outcome. Conclusions: High levels of exposure to guns and gun violence are experienced among a nationally representative population of young Americans, with rates varying considerably by demographic factors. On the basis of these demographic disparities in gun involvement, more work is needed to address community and other risk and protective factors across different levels of the social ecology, such as structural inequities associated with gun violence.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2773065424001123Firearmsgunsgun carryinggun violencevictimizationperpetration |
| spellingShingle | Bruce G. Taylor, PhD Kimberly J. Mitchell, PhD Heather A. Turner, PhD Jackie Sheridan-Johnson, MPH Elizabeth A. Mumford, PhD Prevalence of Gun Carrying and Gun Violence Victimization and Perpetration Among a Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Youth and Young Adults AJPM Focus Firearms guns gun carrying gun violence victimization perpetration |
| title | Prevalence of Gun Carrying and Gun Violence Victimization and Perpetration Among a Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Youth and Young Adults |
| title_full | Prevalence of Gun Carrying and Gun Violence Victimization and Perpetration Among a Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Youth and Young Adults |
| title_fullStr | Prevalence of Gun Carrying and Gun Violence Victimization and Perpetration Among a Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Youth and Young Adults |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prevalence of Gun Carrying and Gun Violence Victimization and Perpetration Among a Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Youth and Young Adults |
| title_short | Prevalence of Gun Carrying and Gun Violence Victimization and Perpetration Among a Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Youth and Young Adults |
| title_sort | prevalence of gun carrying and gun violence victimization and perpetration among a nationally representative sample of u s youth and young adults |
| topic | Firearms guns gun carrying gun violence victimization perpetration |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2773065424001123 |
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