title: The Relationships Among Exposure to Violence, Psychological Distress, and Gun Carrying Among Male Adolescents Found Guilty of Serious Legal Offenses: A Longitudinal Cohort Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Gun violence and psychological problems are often conflated in public discourse on gun safety. However, few studies have empirically assessed the effect of exposure to violence when exploring the association between gun carrying and psychological distress.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the potential effect of exposure to violence on the associations between gun carrying and psychological distress among vulnerable adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Longitudinal cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Pathways to Desistance study, a study of youths found guilty of a serious criminal offense in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, or Maricopa County, Arizona.
  
  
  METHODS
  1170 male youths aged 14 to 19 years who had been found guilty of a serious criminal offense.
  
  
  METHODS
  Youths were assessed at baseline and at four 6-month intervals with regard to gun carrying ("Have you carried a gun?"), psychological distress (Global Severity Index), and exposure to violence (modified version of the Exposure to Violence Inventory).
  
  
  RESULTS
  At the bivariate level, gun carrying was consistently associated with higher levels of psychological distress. However, the association between psychological distress and gun carrying diminished or disappeared when exposure to violence was considered. Exposure to violence (as either a victim or a witness) was significantly related to gun carrying at all follow-up assessments, with increased odds of gun carrying ranging from 1.43 to 1.87 with each additional report of exposure to violence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study sample was limited to justice-involved male youths. Precarrying distress and exposure to violence could not be fully captured because many participants had initiated gun carrying before baseline.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In male youths involved in the criminal justice system, the relationship between psychological distress and gun carrying seems to be influenced by exposure to violence (either experiencing or witnessing it). Further study is warranted to explore whether interventions after exposure to violence could reduce gun carrying in this population.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  None.
authors.affiliation: From University of South Florida St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Florida; University of Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland; University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland; and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Joan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.affiliation: From University of South Florida St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Florida; University of Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland; University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland; and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Tara N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.affiliation: From University of South Florida St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Florida; University of Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland; University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland; and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Loughran
authors.affiliation: From University of South Florida St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Florida; University of Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland; University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland; and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Edward P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Mulvey
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D003415:Crime / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D000069581:Exposure to Violence / Q000523:psychology*; D005389:Firearms; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D035862:Vulnerable Populations; D055815:Young Adult