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Weapon Carrying, Physical Fighting and Gang Membership Among Youth in Washington State Military Families

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Abstract

To examine associations between parental military service and school-based weapon carrying, school-based physical fighting and gang membership among youth. We used cross-sectional data from the 2008 Washington State Healthy Youth Survey collected in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades of public schools (n = 9,987). Parental military service was categorized as none (reference group), without combat zone deployment, or deployed to a combat zone. Multivariable logistic regression was used to test associations between parental military service and three outcomes: school-based weapon carrying, school-based physical fighting and gang membership. Standard errors were adjusted for the complex survey design. In 8th grade, parental deployment was associated with higher odds of reporting gang membership (OR = 1.8) among girls, and higher odds of physical fighting (OR = 1.6), and gang membership (OR = 1.9) among boys. In 10th/12th grade, parental deployment was associated with higher odds of reporting physical fighting (OR = 2.0) and gang membership (OR = 2.2) among girls, and physical fighting (OR = 2.0), carrying a weapon (OR = 2.3) among boys. Parental military deployment is associated with increased odds of reporting engagement in school-based physical fighting, school-based weapon carrying, and gang membership, particularly among older youth. Military, school, and public health professionals have a unique, collaborative opportunity to develop school- and community-based interventions to prevent violence-related behaviors among youth and, ultimately, improve the health and safety of youth in military families. Ideally, such programs would target families and youth before they enter eighth grade.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, University of California, Davis, Education Building, 4610 X Street, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA

    Sarah C. Reed & Janice F. Bell

  2. Center for Disability Policy and Research, University of Washington, 1208 NE 43rd St., Campus Box 359455, Seattle, WA, 98195-9455, USA

    Todd C. Edwards

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  1. Sarah C. Reed
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  2. Janice F. Bell
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  3. Todd C. Edwards
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Correspondence to Sarah C. Reed.

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Reed, S.C., Bell, J.F. & Edwards, T.C. Weapon Carrying, Physical Fighting and Gang Membership Among Youth in Washington State Military Families. Matern Child Health J 18, 1863–1872 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-014-1430-2

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