Gun violence takes a significant toll on adolescents in the United States, and there is a lack of longitudinal research on perceptual factors that drive gun carrying. Notably, there is no information on the relationship between perception of gun accessibility and gun carrying. Using data collected between 2000 and 2006 in the Pathways to Desistance Study, we examine the effects of perceived access to guns in a sample of adolescent offenders. A generalized estimating equations approach tested the effect of perceived gun access along with other known risk factors for gun carrying across time. Even after adjusting for these other risk factors, perceived gun access was significantly related to future carrying. Our findings support self-reported gun availability as a significant, population-based risk factor related to gun carrying in high-risk youth. Further research on how perceived access mediates the decision to carry guns would be valuable for formulating effective gun policy.

中文翻译：

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男性青少年犯罪者中感知到的枪支使用和携带枪支

枪支暴力对美国的青少年造成了重大损失，并且缺乏对驱动枪支携带的感知因素的纵向研究。值得注意的是，没有关于枪支可及性与枪支携带之间关系的信息。使用 2000 年至 2006 年间在“戒断​​途径研究”中收集的数据，我们检查了青少年罪犯样本中感知获得枪支的影响。广义估计方程方法测试了感知枪支访问的影响以及其他已知的枪支携带风险因素。即使在调整了这些其他风险因素之后，感知枪支使用与未来携带显着相关。我们的研究结果支持自我报告的枪支可用性作为与高风险青年携带枪支相关的一个重要的、基于人群的风险因素。