title: Weapon carrying among black adolescents: a social network perspective.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This report describes the salience of social networks to the phenomena of adolescent weapon carrying.
  
  
  METHODS
  A random-walk network sampling design was used to survey 113 adolescents about topics, including weapon carrying.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In a probability sample of 12- to 15-year-olds, 20.9% reported ever carrying a weapon. Carriers were eight times as likely as noncarriers to report weapon carrying by an older associate, and 19 times as likely to report weapon carrying by a peer. A significant dose-response effect was present.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This evidence supports the interpretation that modeling of weapon carrying by personal network members is important for its initiation and maintenance in adolescence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Ga 30310-1495, USA.
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: McGrady
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marrow
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Mueller
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D005260:Female; D005389:Firearms; D006801:Humans; D015993:Life Tables; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D012944:Social Support