A Developmental Picture of Gun Carrying and Gun Use Among High-Risk Adolescents

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract

This symposium uses data from two longitudinal studies of high-risk adolescents (the Pittsburgh Youth Study and the Pathways to Desistance study) to address four areas: 1) precursors to adolescent gun carrying, 2) factors related to the transition from gun carrying to gun use in crime, 3) the time-varying proximal factors (e.g. peer relationships) related to disruptions in gun-carrying and/or use and, finally, 4) how gun carrying alters subjective perceptions of risks and costs to crime. Information to address these questions is rarely available from a developmental framework; prior work has typically been cross-sectional. Results will be discussed in terms of their relevance to prevention, intervention, and policy issues surrounding gun acquisition and use by adolescents.

Sub Unit

• Area I. Causes of Crime and Criminal Behavior / 12. Developmental, Integrated and Life Course Perspectives

Individual Presentations

• Gun Carrying Initiation Among Black and White Males: Comparing Self-Defense and Antisocial Lifestyle Explanations - Dustin Pardini, University of Pittsburgh; Rolf Loeber, University of Pittsburgh

• Moving From Gun Carrying To Gun Use In Crime - Carol Ann Schubert, University of Pittsburgh; Edward P. Mulvey, University of Pittsburgh

• Feeling Bulletproof: Does Carrying a Gun Make Crime Seem Less Risky to Offenders? - Thomas Loughran, University of Maryland; Joan A. Reid, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg

Discussant

• Deanna L. Wilkinson, Ohio State University