Changes in Head Injury and Gun Use from Adolescence to Early Adulthood: Evidence from a Longitudinal Sample of Juvenile Youth

• In Event: Recent Developments in Biosocial Research on Head Injury, Offending, and Victimization

Abstract

Prior research indicates that sustaining a head injury is related to increases in aggressive juvenile offending from adolescence to emerging adulthood. However, much remains unknown about whether head injury is associated with changes in a specific form of lethal violence responsible for a large degree of social harm: gun use. The current study analyzes three of waves of data from the Northwestern Juvenile Project (a longitudinal sample of juvenile youth from Cook County, Illinois) to begin to address this gap in the existing body of head injury research. Cross-lagged dynamic panel models are estimated to assess the relationship between within-individual changes in head injury and gun use over time. Results from the analysis, policy implications for head injury prevention, detection, and treatment, as well as policies aimed at improving gun safety will be discussed.

Authors

• Kristina Block, Sam Houston State University

• Eric Connolly, Sam Houston State University