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Carrying a handgun in public vs. taking a handgun to school among youth: an exploration of the predicting power of risk factors related to delinquency, aggression, and victimization

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Abstract

Gun violence in school settings has recently been of great concern in the US. However, research on youth carrying a gun to school is limited in numbers and scope. This study strove to improve the understanding of the risk factors associated with gun carrying in the general public and taking a gun to school among middle- and high-school students. Based on a dataset collected from rural, urban, and suburban schools in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania (n = 5648), this study explored the predictor value of several potential risk factors derived from two prominent theoretical frameworks: “crime facilitation” and “fear and loathing” on two major outcome variables; carrying a handgun in public, and taking a handgun to school. The predictor variables included measures of bullying, violence against a dating partner, and non-gun delinquency. The bivariate analysis (group comparisons) indicated no significant difference between the likelihood of carrying a hand gun in public and taking a handgun to school among participants. The multivariate analysis indicated that non-gun delinquency was the most important risk factor increasing the likelihood for carrying a hand gun in public and taking a handgun to school. How future risk/threat assessment efforts should interpret these findings is discussed, along with the implications on how taking a gun to school is an extension of general gun carrying and may primarily be shaped by the presence of a delinquent lifestyle, rather than any other possible predictors examined.

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Notes

  1. The dataset was provided by the ICPSR through a special agreement. 

  2. The dataset provided to the authors for the current study masked the state information and was not included in the analysis.

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Acknowledgments

The authors want to thank to the anomious reviwers and Dr. Kathrine Johnson for their constructive feedback on the earlier versions of this manusript.

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  1. University of West Florida, 11000 University Pkwy, Pensacola, FL, 32514, USA

    Hasan Buker, Ihsan E. Buker & Bailey Bullion

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Appendices

Appendix A: Bullying measures (adapted from Zweig et al. 2013)

Bullying Victimization

Cyberbullying (Cronbach's α = 0.898)

Bullying Perpetration

Cyberbullying (Cronbach's α = 0.974)

My cell phone account was used without my permission to send a photo or image to other people to get me in trouble

A student got other students to send a rude video message to my cell phone

A student forwarded a video to my cell phone he/she knew I wouldn’t like

My cell phone was used without my permission to send a video message to other people to get me in trouble

A student sent me a nasty email

A student sent me an email threatening to harm me

A student sent me an instant message or chat to hurt my feelings

My instant message account was used without my permission to send a message to other students to get me into trouble

A student created a nasty profile page (like Myspace or YouTube) about me

A student put something on a profile page (like Myspace or YouTube) about me to hurt my feelings

I was called names I didn’t like through a text message

A student sent me a text message to hurt my feelings

Physical bullying (Cronbach's α = 0.848)

I was pushed or shoved

I was hit or kicked hard

Students crashed into me on purpose as they walked by

My property was damaged on purpose

Something was thrown at me to hit me

I was threatened to be physically hurt or harmed

Psychological bullying (Cronbach's α = 0.915)

I was teased by students saying things to me

A student made rude remarks at me

A student made me feel afraid in school

Things were said about my looks I didn’t like

I was called names I didn’t like

A student wouldn’t be friends with me because other people didn’t like me

Used a cell phone to send other students a video of a student I knew would get him/her into trouble

Got other students to send a rude video message to a student’s cell phone

Used a cell phone to forward a video to a student I knew he/she wouldn’t like

Sent a video message to other people to get a student into trouble

Sent a student a nasty email

Sent a student an email threatening to harm him/her

Sent a student an instant message or chat to hurt his/her feelings

Used a student’s instant message account without his/her permission to send a message that I knew would get him/her into trouble

Created a profile page (like Myspace or YouTube) about a student knowing it would upset him/her

Wrote things about a student on a profile page (like Myspace or YouTube) to hurt his/her feelings

Called a student names he/she didn’t like through a text message

Sent a student a cell phone text message knowing it would hurt his/her feelings

Physical bullying (Cronbach's α = 0.872)

Pushed or shoved a student

Hit or kicked a student hard

Crashed into a student on purpose as they walked by

Damaged a student’s property on purpose

Threw somethings at a student to hit them

Threatened to physically hurt or harm a student

Psychological bullying (Cronbach's α = 0.903)

Teased a student by saying mean things to him/her

Made rude remarks at a student

Made another student feel afraid in school

Said things about their looks they didn’t like

Made fun of a student by calling them names

Wouldn’t let my friends be friends with a student because I didn’t like him/her

Got other students to ignore a student

Got my friends to turn against a student

Didn’t invite a student to my place because other people didn’t like him/her

Left a student out of activities or games on purpose

Made another student hide his/her sexuality from other students

Appendix B

Other aggression/victimization categories (adapted from Zweig et al. 2013)

Physical Dating Violence Victimization (Cronbach's α = 0.896)

Scratched me

Slapped me

Pushed, grabbed, or shoved me

Physically twisted my arm

Slammed me or held me against a wall

Kicked me

Bent my fingers

Bit me

Tried to choke me

Burned me

Hit me with a fist

Hit me with something hard beside a fist

Beat me up

Assaulted me with a knife or gun

Psychological Dating Abuse Victimization (Cronbach's α = 0.897)

Damaged something that belonged to me

Started to hit me but stopped

Threatened to hurt me

Harmed or threatened to harm someone close to me

Would not let me do things with other people

Told me I could not talk to a person of the gender I date

Made me describe where I was every minute of the day

Insisted on knowing who I am with and where I am at all times

Tried to limit contact with my family

Tried to limit contact with my friends

Insulted me in front of others

Put down my looks

Blamed me for bad things he/she did

Called me names to put me down or make me feel bad

Made me feel unsafe or uneasy when we spend time alone together

Said things to hurt my feelings on purpose

Threatened to start dating someone else

Brought up something from the past to hurt me

Made me feel owned or controlled

Threatened to harm himself/herself if I broke up with him/her

Made me afraid to tell others the truth

Sexual Coercion Victimization (Cronbach's α = 0.737)

Pressured me to have sex when he/she knew I didn’t want to

Forced me to have sex

Forced me to do other sexual things that I did not want to do

Had unwanted sexual intercourse

Physical Dating Violence Perpetration (Cronbach's α = 0.888)

Scratched him/her

Slapped him/her

Pushed, grabbed, or shoved him/her

Physically twisted his/her arm

Slammed him/her or held him/her against a wall

Kicked him/her

Bent his/her fingers

Bit him/her

Tried to choke him/her

Burned him/her

Hit him/her with a fist

Hit him/her with something hard besides a fist

Beat him/her up

Assaulted him/her with a knife or gun

Psychological Dating Abuse Perpetration (Cronbach's α = 0.897)

Damaged something that belonged to him/her

Started to hit him/her but stopped

Threatened to hurt him/her

Harmed or threatened to harm someone close to him/her

Would not let him/her do things with other people

Told him/her he/she could not talk to a person of the gender he/she date

Made him/her describe where he/she was every minute of the day

Insisted on knowing who he/she am with and where he/she am at all times

Tried to limit contact with his/her family

Tried to limit contact with his/her friends

Insulted him/her in front of others

Put down his/her looks

Blamed him/her for bad things he/she did

Called him/her names to put him/her down or make him/her feel bad

Made him/her feel unsafe or uneasy when we spend time alone together

Said things to hurt his/her feelings on purpose

Threatened to start dating someone else

Brought up something from the past to hurt him/her

Made him/her feel owned or controlled

Threatened to harm myself if he/she broke up with me

Made him/her afraid to tell others the truth

Sexual Coercion Perpetration (Cronbach's α = 0.723)

Pressured him/her to have sex when I knew he/she didn't want to

Forced him/her to have sex

Forced him/her to do other sexual things that he/she did not want to do

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Buker, H., Buker, I.E. & Bullion, B. Carrying a handgun in public vs. taking a handgun to school among youth: an exploration of the predicting power of risk factors related to delinquency, aggression, and victimization. Secur J 37, 65–89 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41284-023-00368-3

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