Recent weapon carrying and substance use among United States Virgin Islands youth

Predictors of weapon carrying in youth attending drop-in centers

OBJECTIVE

To test and compare 2 predictive models of weapon carrying in youth (n = 308) recruited from 4 drop-in centers in San Diego and Imperial counties.

METHODS

Both models were based on the Behavioral Ecological Model (BEM).

RESULTS

The first and second models significantly explained 39% and 53% of the variance in weapon carrying, respectively, and both full models shared the significant predictors of being black(-), being Hispanic (-), peer modeling of weapon carrying/jail time (+), and school suspensions (+).

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest that the BEM offers a generalizable conceptual model that may inform prevention strategies for youth at greatest risk of weapon carrying.

The clustering of risk behaviors among Caribbean youth

OBJECTIVE

To examine the relationships among risk behaviors for Caribbean youth; and to determine the correlations between initiation of sexual activity and other risk behaviors.

METHODS

The associations between cigarette smoking, alcohol and marijuana use, early initiation of sexual intercourse, involvement in violence and delinquency were examined using odds ratios on data from the Caribbean Youth Health Survey (n = 15, 695). Survival analysis was then used to determine the association between initiation of sexual activity and the risk behaviors.

FINDINGS

There were statistically significant relationships between all pairs of risk behaviors for both male and female adolescents. Even though more males than females had engaged in each of the behaviors, the strengths of association were higher for females. From survival analysis, initiation of sexual activity was associated with gang involvement and weapon carrying among young adolescents and even more risk behaviors among the older adolescents.

CONCLUSION

Health compromising behaviors cluster among Caribbean youth with associations being stronger for females. Initiating sexual activity was a predictor of other risk behaviors with the likelihood increasing among older adolescents and females.

Weapon-carrying at Swiss schools? A gender-specific typology in context of victim and offender related violence

After reviewing prevalence rates, this work tries to identify gender specific groups in which weapon-carrying occurs in the context of victim and offender related violent behaviours. k-Means cluster and logistic regression analyses were calculated, based on a cross-sectional survey of a national representative sample of 1549 15-year-olds as part of the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) international collaborative study. The victims and offenders of violence concern mainly female bullies and physically violent boys. In the male victim-offender group, 17% had already taken a weapon to school. Another male group emerged in which 95% had already taken a weapon to school. Members of this group revealed an elevated level of acting violently but a low level of being the victim. Among the minority girls who were offenders and victims of physical violence, everyone has already taken a weapon to school. Based on these results, homogenous risk groups can be targeted for violence prevention.