Urban high school youth and handguns: a school-based survey

Article Abstract:

A survey of 970 Seattle high school students found that a large percentage have easy access to handguns. Thirty-four percent said they could easily get a handgun, and over six percent personally owned one. Males were eight times more likely to own a gun as females. Twenty percent of the students from lower class backgrounds owned a gun, compared to three percent of those from upper class backgrounds. Almost half of the gun owners had carried the gun to school at some time, and one-third said they had shot someone. Students who belonged to a gang, had been sentenced by a judge or involved in a crime, or who sold drugs or had been suspended from school were all more likely to report owning a gun. However, only 37% of handgun owners were members of a gang. And 22% of all male handgun owners did not report any deviant behavior. Widespread access to handguns may be a factor in the high rate of firearm-related injuries in teenagers.

Management, Firearms

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Physical fighting among high school students - United States, 1990

Article Abstract:

Almost eight percent of 11,631 US high school students surveyed said they had been in a fight that resulted in injury in the month preceding the survey. Males were four times more likely to have been in a fight than females. Black males reported the most fights, followed by Hispanic males and white males. The majority of fights involved an acquaintance, but males were more likely to fight with a stranger than females. Homicide is a leading cause of death among young people, and their propensity to fight could lead to violence that is deadly. Fighting among high school students could be reduced by limiting their exposure to violence and improving treatment programs for teenagers in groups at a high risk for violence. Schools and community agencies could teach students conflict resolution skills. One of the objectives of Healthy People 2000 is to reduce fighting among teenagers by 20% by the year 2000.

Hand-to-hand fighting, Hand to hand fighting

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Alcohol and other drug use among high school students - United States

Article Abstract:

A survey of 11,631 high school students in the US, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands found that a large percentage admitted using alcohol or drugs at some time in their lives. Eighty-eight percent of the students had consumed alcohol, 32% had used marijuana and 7% had used cocaine at least once. Male students were more likely than female students to try alcohol, marijuana and cocaine and they reported heavier use of these substances. Students in the twelfth grade were more likely than those in the ninth grade to have tried alcohol, marijuana and cocaine and use of these substances increased significantly with age. Measures to decrease substance abuse among teenagers include establishing educational programs in the schools and restricting access to alcohol and drugs.

Alcohol and youth, Juvenile drinking, Drugs and youth, Juvenile drug abuse

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