Locked, Loaded, and Ready for School: The Association of Safety Concerns With Weapon-carrying Behavior Among Adolescents in the United States.

This study examines the prevalence and correlates of co-occurring suicidal behavior (i.e., attempted suicide) and violent behavior (i.e., involved in a physical fight) in a nationally representative sample of high school students. Analyses were based on cross-sectional data from the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), which includes a nationally representative sample (n = 15,214) of high school students in 9th through 12th grade in the United States. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to test the associations between demographic characteristics, potential risk factors, and suicidal and violent behavior for students across urban, suburban, and rural settings. Suicidal and violent behaviors were classified into four mutually exclusive groups: (1) both suicidal and violent behaviors, (2) violent behavior only, (3) suicidal behavior only, and (4) no suicidal behavior and no violent behavior. The prevalence of involvement in suicide attempts and physical fighting were similar across urban (4.5%), suburban (5.0%), and rural (3.9%) settings. Sadness, weapon carrying, binge drinking, drug use, and low academic grades were significantly associated with suicide attempts and physical fighting across settings. However, low academic grades were associated only with suicide attempts and physical fighting among urban students. Risk factors for physical fighting only and for suicide attempt only, varied across settings. Prevention programs are needed to reduce co-occurring suicidal and violent behaviors. These programs need to be implemented across urban, suburban, and rural settings and target those risk factors that appear to exacerbate risk for involvement in both physical fighting and suicide attempts.

Gender, Early Alcohol Use, and Suicide Ideation and Attempts: Findings from the 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey

We sought to (1) compare estimates of the prevalence of fighting and weapon carrying among adolescent boys and girls in North American and European countries and (2) assess in adolescents from a subgroup of these countries comparative rates of weapon carrying and characteristics of fighting and injury outcomes, with a determination of the association between these indicators of violence and the occurrence of medically treated injury. Cross-sectional self-report surveys using 120 questions were obtained from nationally representative samples of 161082 students in 35 countries. In addition, optional factors were assessed within individual countries: characteristics of fighting (9 countries); characteristics of weapon carrying (7 countries); and medically treated injury (8 countries). Participants included all consenting students in sampled classrooms (average age: 11-15 years). The primary measures assessed included involvement in physical fights and the types of people involved; frequency and types of weapon carrying; and frequency and types of medically treated injury. Involvement in fighting varied across countries, ranging from 37% to 69% of the boys and 13% to 32% of the girls. Adolescents most often reported fighting with friends or relatives. Among adolescents reporting fights, fighting with total strangers varied from 16% to 53% of the boys and 5% to 16% of the girls. Involvement in weapon carrying ranged from 10% to 21% of the boys and 2% to 5% of the girls. Among youth reporting weapon carrying, those carrying handguns or other firearms ranged from 7% to 22% of the boys and 3% to 11% of the girls. In nearly all reporting countries, both physical fighting and weapon carrying were significantly associated with elevated risks for medically treated, multiple, and hospitalized injury events. Fighting and weapon carrying are 2 common indicators of physical violence that are experienced by young people. Associations of fighting and weapon carrying with injury-related health outcomes are remarkably similar across countries. Violence is an important issue affecting the health of adolescents internationally.

Alcohol and violence: Comparison of the psychosocial correlates of adolescent involvement in alcohol-related physical fighting versus other physical fighting

INTRODUCTION: Peer violence can have important physical and psychological consequences. OBJECTIVES: This study assessed exposure to peer violence among Romanian high school students and investigated its relationship with internet use and other health risk behaviors. METHODS: A cross sectional study using anonymous questionnaires was performed in the school year 2015/2016 among 220 high school students from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. RESULTS: Around 9% of the girls, respectively 20% of the boys were involved in a physical fight with a peer in the last year. More than half of both girls and boys declared verbal aggression by peers at least once in the last year, while around one quarter of the participants declared being aggressed in the last year through messages sent by peers by phone or social media platforms. The results of the bivariate correlation analyses show that involvement in physical fights was positively associated with being boy, experimentation with smoking, electronic cigarettes use and getting drunk during lifetime. High school students who declared verbal aggression in the last year had the tendency to spend more time on internet for several purposes, to experiment smoking and alcohol intoxication. Exposure to peer violence through messages sent by phone or social media platforms was more frequents among those spending more time on internet, having social media accounts and getting drunk during lifetime. CONCLUSIONS: The study shows the need for future investigations in this field as well as the necessity to develop appropriate programs for prevention and decreasing of peer violence among high school students.

Background: Adolescents' possession of guns was a matter of concern even before the pandemic. It is pertinent to examine whether students continued possessing guns after schools reopened, and if so, identify factors that might have been associated with such behaviors. Towards this end, the present study examined the relationship between highschool students' experiences and their propensity to possess guns. Methods: This used responses from multiple nationally representative cross-sectional surveys of high school students from the 2019 and 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) and the 2021 Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey (ABES). Gun possession within the past year was the main outcome of interest. Experiences of violence, assault, injury, and other adverse experiences were the independent variables. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions, adjusting for sample weights, were performed using SAS. Results: Out of a total of more than 25,000 and 38,000 valid responses, respectively in 2019 and 2021 to the question on gun possession, 4.7% and 4.2% reported carrying a gun at least once within the past year. Experiences of sexual violence, involvement in physical fight, perceived lack of safety, and being threatened/injured by weapons, were associated with higher adjusted odds of guns possession among males and females. Among ABES 2021 respondents (more than 7500), those who witnessed violence in the neighborhood were more likely to possess guns. This association was significant among males, whereas parents being informed about whereabouts was significant for females. Conclusion: This study shows that adverse experiences were associated with a higher odds of guns possession among female and male highschool students. Witnessing violent attack on someone in the neighborhood emerged as a risk factor for males. This suggests that social determinants of health as well as adverse experiences are associated with gun possession among high-school students.

BackgroundUnhealthy behaviors are associated with mental health problems and violence in adolescents, yet their combined association has been understudied. Using the Global School Health Survey, this study examined the association between combined unhealthy behaviors (including fast food, soft drink, smoking, other tobacco products and physical inactivity) and anxiety, suicidal ideation and involvement in physical fight among Pakistani adolescents.MethodsData were obtained from the Global School Health Survey conducted in Pakistan (2009). The study population consisted of school going adolescents aged 13 to 15 years. Association of combined unhealthy behaviors with anxiety, suicidal ideation and involvement in physical fight were studied through secondary analysis. We used univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis by complex sample method, accounting for cluster sampling technique used for data collection.ResultsOf the total 4583 students, weighted percentage and unweighted count for one, two, three and four or more unhealthy behaviors was 39.4% (n = 1770), 22.1% (n = 963), 5.9% (n = 274) and 1.2% (n = 62) respectively. The weighted prevalence for anxiety, suicidal ideation and involvement in physical fight were 8.4%, 7.3% and 37.4% respectively. The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis after adjustment showed that students who had four or more unhealthy behaviors had higher odds of; being anxious (OR 2.45, 95%CI 1.31-4.59, p value 0.004), suicide ideation (OR 4.56, 95%CI 2.58-8.07, p value <0.001) and being involved in physical fight (OR 3.15, 95% CI 1.63–6.08, p value <0.001) as compared to those who had not adopted any unhealthy behaviors.ConclusionsThis study suggests that the co-occurrence of unhealthy behaviors is associated with anxiety, suicidal ideation and physical fight among adolescents. These findings should be considered when developing interventions to combat detrimental outcomes of unhealthy behaviors during adolescence.

269. Bullying, Weapon Carrying And Mental Health Outcomes Among U.S. High School Students - Results From A Nationally Representative Survey

To assess the co-occurrence of past-month physical assault of a dating partner and violence against peers and siblings among a locally representative sample of high school students and to explore correlates of dating violence (DV) perpetration. Cross-sectional survey design. Twenty-two public high schools in Boston, Massachusetts. A sample of urban high school students (n = 1398) who participated in the Boston Youth Survey, implemented January through April of 2008. Self-reported physical DV in the month before the survey, defined as pushing, shoving, slapping, hitting, punching, kicking, or choking a dating partner 1 or more times. Among the respondents, 18.7%, 41.2%, and 31.2% of students reported past-month perpetration of physical DV, peer violence, and sibling violence, respectively. Among violence perpetrators, the perpetration of DV only was rare (7.9%). Controlling for age and school, the association between sibling violence and DV was strong for boys (adjusted prevalence ratio, 3.81; 95% confidence interval, 2.07-6.99) and for girls (1.83; 1.44-2.31), and the association between peer violence and DV perpetration was strong for boys (5.13; 3.15-8.35) and for girls (2.57; 1.87-3.52). Dating violence perpetration was also associated with substance use, knife carrying, delinquency, and exposure to community violence. Adolescents who perpetrated physical DV were also likely to have perpetrated peer and/or sibling violence. Dating violence is likely one of many co-occurring adolescent problem behaviors, including sibling and peer violence perpetration, substance use, weapon carrying, and academic problems.

Carrying weapons is a significant social and public health problem worldwide, especially among adolescents. The present study examined the association between weapon carrying and related risk behaviors among Thai adolescents. A cross-sectional study of 2,588 high school and vocational school students aged 11 to 19 years from 26 schools in Bangkok, Thailand, was conducted in 2014. This study found that 7.8% of youth reported having carried a weapon in the past 12 months. The high prevalence of weapon carrying was reported by male students, and males were more likely to have reported carrying a weapon than females. The association between weapon carrying and the health risk behaviors like drinking, smoking, any drug use, and physical fighting were significant with higher odds of weapon carrying in all models. Among males, weapon carrying was related to drinking and smoking, any drug use, physical fighting, and school type. Among females, suicidal thoughts were significantly related along with drinking and smoking, any drug use, and physical fighting. Having a mother who used substances was significant only among females. These data could be used for further interventions about weapon carrying to reduce violence.

Background: Interpersonal violence in school settings is an important public health problem worldwide. This study investigated the individual and social correlates for being involved in a physical fight amongst a nationally representative sample of school-attending adolescents in Kuwait. Methods: We carried out bivariate and multivariate analyses to determine the strength and direction of associations with adolescent involvement in problematic fighting behavior within a 12-month recall period. Results: Within a total sample of 3637, n = 877 (25.2%) of school-attending adolescents reported being involved in two or more physical fights during the recall period. The multivariate analysis indicated that being male (OR = 2.71; CI = 1.88–3.90), a victim of bullying (OR = 2.77; CI = 2.14–3.58), truancy (OR = 2.52; CI = 1.91–3.32), planning a suicide (OR = 2.04; CI = 1.49–2.78) and food deprivation (OR = 1.91; CI = 1.37–2.65) were associated with an increased risk of involvement in physical fighting. Peer support in the form of having close friends (OR = 0.85; CI = 0.76–0.96) was found to be associated with a reduced involvement in fighting behavior. Conclusion: The results, when taken together, suggest that supportive school environments may represent important settings for violence mitigation and prevention strategies.

Background: School violence is widely acknowledged as a public health problem with considerable consequences on student learning and social development. There are also a wide range of health consequences. A large share of previous research on school violence has focused on populations in the global north, with significant gaps in the state of knowledge in the world's emerging economies. To this end, the present study provides an examination of correlates for school-based violence in Chile using a nationally representative cohort.Methods: Six independent variables were considered (age, sex, physical activity, sedentary life style, bullying victimization, food insecurity) within a logistic regression model to ascertain the strength and direction of associations with physical fighting.Results: Among the surveyed students, ~13.08% reported being involved in two or more physical fights during the twelve month recall period. Males were significantly over represented among those reporting being involved in a fight OR 2.91 (CI = 1.98–4.27). Those who reported experiencing food insecurity were 5.29 (CI = 1.43–19.50) times more likely to have been involved in a physical fight. Students who reported being bullied were 2.41 (CI = 1.67–3.47) times more likely to have been involved in physical fights. While age provided protection from involvement in physical fights with an adjusted odds ratio of 0.91 (CI = 0.84–0.98).Conclusion: Consistent with previous research, our results suggest that the use of school-based interventions that target multiple risk behaviors may be helpful in reducing rates of physical fighting.

In recent years, the United States has seen an increase in gun-related violence and school shootings. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the incidence of gun carrying among high-school students has declined. Nevertheless, an examination of the underlying factors that increase the risk of violence-related behaviors is necessary to develop interventions to decrease gun use among high-school students. General Strain Theory (GST) predicts that victims of violence are (a) significantly more likely to engage in violent behaviors and (b) the increased risk of violent behavior by persons who experience violence is significantly greater among male victims. This research aims to test these predictions of the strain theory with data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). To that end, it investigates whether the relationship between forced sexual intercourse victimization (FSIV) and gun or weapon carrying or physical fighting is significantly greater among male students. Using R and pooled data from the nationally representative YRBS (2017 and 2019), additive interactions were estimated according to Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines to determine the association between FSIV and weapon carry, gun carry, or physical fighting. Multiplicative interactions and odds ratios were also estimated for comparison. Results show a high risk of gun and weapon carrying and physical fighting among both male and female students who experience FSIV and a significant relationship between FSIV and increased risk of these violence-related behaviors. Additive interactions show that the relationship between FSIV and these violent behaviors is significantly greater among male students than female students. Results confirm the predictions of GST and show that FSIV significantly increases the risk of gun carrying and other violence-related behaviors among male and female U.S. high-school students; the increased risk is significantly greater among male students.

The researchers in this study assessed the prevalence of different types and experience of intimate partner violence among 600 women aged 15 to 49 years in selected rural and urban communities in southwestern Nigeria between October and December, 2007. Lifetime prevalence of intimate partner violence was 64% in the rural and 70% in the urban areas. Controlling behavior was the most frequently reported type of intimate partner violence experienced by both groups of women, and sexual violence was reported least. More urban women reported sexual violence and controlling behaviors than rural women (16.4% versus 11.6% and 57.7% versus 42.0%, respectively). More rural women had experienced physical violence (28% versus 14%). More urban women experienced controlling behaviors, while more rural women experienced physical violence. In both locations, history of partners' involvement in physical fights was significantly associated with reporting sexual violence (rural: odds ratio [OR] = 3.9; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2–12.3; urban: OR = 8.4; 95% CI 1.4–51.8). History of alcohol consumption by partners was significantly associated with reporting physical violence (rural: OR = 2.3; 95% CI 1.2–4.4; urban: OR = 3.2; 95% CI 1.4–7.2). However, among rural respondents, younger partners were more likely to perpetuate controlling behavior (OR = 5.1; 95% CI 1.7–15.6) and being in a relationship for ≥10 years was related to psychological and physical violence. Among urban respondents, history of partners' involvement in physical fights was associated with controlling behavior (OR = 8.2; 95% CI 1.1–65.4) and physical violence (OR = 4.5; 95% CI 1.2–17.3). These results suggest that intimate partner violence is a frequent experience in women in both communities, although the types of intimate partner violence experienced differed, and multidisciplinary strategies are required to reduce intimate partner violence.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the association between school grade retention and physical fighting among adolescents.MethodsWe evaluated 1687 adolescents, part of EPITeen population-based cohort of urban adolescents, at 13 and 17 years of...