Weapon involvement in the victimization of children

dc.contributor.authorMitchell, K. J., Hamby, S. L., Turner, H. A., Shattuck, A., & Jones, L. M.
dc.date.accessioned2015-07-01T13:21:31Z
dc.date.available2015-07-01T13:21:31Z
dc.date.issued2015
dc.description.abstractThe objective was to report the prevalence of weapons involved in the victimization of youth with particular emphasis on weapons with a “high lethality risk” and how such exposure fits into the broader victimization and life experiences of children and adolescents. METHODS: Data were collected as part of the Second National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence, a nationally representative telephone survey of youth ages 2 to 17 years and caregivers (N = 4114) conducted in 2011. RESULTS: Estimates from the Second National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence indicate that .17.5 million youth in the United States have been exposed to violence involving a weapon in their lifetimes as witnesses or victims, or .1 in 4 children. More than 2 million youth in the United States (1 in 33) have been directly assaulted in incidents where the high lethality risk weapons of guns and knives were used. Differences were noted between victimizations involving higher and lower lethality risk weapons as well as between any weapon involvement versus none. Poly-victims, youth with 7 or more victimization types, were particularly likely to experience victimization with any weapon, as well as victimization with a highly lethal weapon compared with nonpoly-victims. CONCLUSIONS: Findings add to the field’s broadening conceptualization of youth victimization highlighting the potentially highly consequential risk factor of weapon exposure as a component of victimization experiences on the mental health of youth. Further work on improving gun safety practices and taking steps to reduce children’s exposure to weaponinvolved violence is warranted to reduce this problem.en_US
dc.identifier.citationMitchell, K. J., Hamby, S. L., Turner, H. A., Shattuck, A., & Jones, L. M. (2015). Weapon involvement in the victimization of children. Pediatrics,136(1), 10-17.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://pediatrics.aappublications.org.calio.idm.oclc.org/content/136/1/10.full.pdf+html
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11212/2314
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherPediatricsen_US
dc.subjectpoly-victimizationen_US
dc.subjectweaponsen_US
dc.subjectresearchen_US
dc.titleWeapon involvement in the victimization of childrenen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

Files