AN EARLY START ON VIOLENCE

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AN EARLY START ON VIOLENCE.

We already know that violence is a major societal problem in the U.S. This five-year longitudinal study finds that weapon carrying often begins in elementary school. Researchers prospectively surveyed roughly 1500 nine- year-olds from an urban public school system in the mid- Atlantic region. For the first two years, 12 percent of boys and 3 percent of girls reported carrying lethal weapons such as guns, knives, and razors to school. By age 13, these proportions were up to 22 and 15 percent. Most respondents said that they carried the weapon to defend themselves. Carrying weapons in the younger years strongly predicted carrying weapons that are more lethal later. For example, 11-year-olds who carried sticks were 12 times more likely than those who were not carrying sticks to start carrying guns at age 12. Aggressiveness also increased over time: at age nine, 26 percent of boys and 20 percent of girls said they had started a fight; 33 and 22 percent, respectively, made the same admission at age 13. Comment: Middle school may be too late to begin targeting anti-violence messages to children, at least in urban areas. However, age-appropriate intervention for all children is the best hope we have at present.

— RA Dershewitz

Published in Journal Watch General Medicine December 29, 1995

Citation(s):

Arria AM, et al. Prevalence of carrying a weapon and related behaviors in urban schoolchildren, 1989 to 1993. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1995 Dec 149 1345-1350.