title: Carrying and using weapons: A survey of minority junior high school students in New York City.
abstract: To explore weapon carrying among young, inner-city adolescents, a survey was administered in fall 1993 to 2005 predominately Hispanic students (mean age = 12.8 years) in three New York City junior high schools. The survey revealed that 21% of students reported personally carrying a weapon; guns and knives were the weapons most commonly carried. Most of those who carried guns reported that they bought them. Forty-two percent indicated that they had a family member or close friend who had been shot. Boys and older students were more likely to report carrying weapons. Preventive efforts may need to begin before or on entry into junior high school rather than high school.
authors.affiliation: Center for Population and Family Health, Columbia University School of Public Health, New York, NY 10032, USA.
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Vaughan
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: McCarthy
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Armstrong
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Waterman
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tiezzi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005389:Firearms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009519:New York City; D012737:Sex Factors; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires