Chicago teens living in safer neighborhoods less likely to carry concealed

[gatlingforme]

firearms.

I thought this was an excellent article on the problems teens face
and the importance of neighborhood structure.





Public release date: 5-Jul-2004
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Contact: Karen Kemp
919-613-7394
JAMA and Archives Journals Website

Chicago teens living in safer neighborhoods less likely to carry concealed firearms
CHICAGO – Chicago children and adolescents living in neighborhoods that are safer, more cohesive, and less disordered are less likely to carry firearms, according to a new study in the July issue of The Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
"Under federal law, individuals younger than 18 years are prohibited from owning handguns and in most states from carrying concealed weapons. Nonetheless, data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey and other studies indicate high levels of self-reported gun carrying among American youth," the article states.

Beth E. Molnar, Sc.D., of the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, and colleagues analyzed data from 1,842 children between the ages 9 and 19 living in 218 Chicago neighborhoods, and identified whether neighborhood characteristics have an effect upon the tendency of a youth to carry a concealed firearm, beyond neighborhood economic differences and individual and family risk factors for carrying. Data for the study came from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods and were collected between 1995 and 2000.

"In this study 4.9 percent of males and 1.1 percent of females….reported having carried a concealed firearm," at some point during their lifetime, authors found. "Restricting the current analysis to youth aged 14 to 18 years, the prevalence of having carried a gun was 9.3 percent among males and 1.8 percent among females."

Researchers also found that children and adolescents are more likely to carry a concealed firearm if they live in a Chicago neighborhood that has certain identifiable characteristics that may foster a fear of being victimized.
<snip>
more at: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-07/jaaj-ctl063004.php

[JayS]

1. Interesting read but I do wonder how to go about getting paid...

...to research something that is common sense. :)

The article does illustrate how the overall quality of life will suffer if the basic problem of crime is not dealt with. It is hard to concentrate on school or a job if a venture outside may get one killed.

Hopefully, the researchers will discover just how many of the problems that "bad" neighborhoods face are caused by the way we "fight" the War On Drugs, but I am not holding my breath. It is not a very sexy topic.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1904775

[gatlingforme]

2. Good point, and with every studythere is either an agenda behind it

or someone requesting it to make a specific point and I think you nailed it on the head. Thanks for your reply.

[JayS]

3. Your post was a good one but for some reason these...

...discussions go nowhere. I don't know why that is.

[FatSlob]

4. Duh!

"Researchers also found that children and adolescents are more likely to carry a concealed firearm if they live in a Chicago neighborhood that has certain identifiable characteristics that may foster a fear of being victimized."

No shit?

[Baclava]

5. Cultural anthropology anyone?

"Researchers also found that children and adolescents are more likely to carry a concealed firearm if they live in a Chicago neighborhood that has certain identifiable characteristics that may foster a fear of being victimized."

Unless, of course, these 9 to 19 y/o "children" are not the victims but actually predators of the crack-smoking, gang-banging, B&E type... I don't suppose these "researchers" were out in the alleys talking to them about their carry habits at three a.m., though.