Background: Among adolescents, the pathway from being offered drugs to engaging in drug use has been established. The prevalence of drug transactions specifically in schools is less understood. The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of adolescents who have reported drug transaction experiences (being offered, sold, or given an…

The Federal Commission on School Safety has proposed a number of school security measures, including that trained teachers be allowed to carry concealed weapons at school. Prior to implementing such a policy, legislators and school administrators would be well advised to understand the potential effects of the policy on students. The current study…

Montana is proud to have completed over three decades of participation in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). These results are valuable to educators, school boards, and communities, including parents and students, in understanding the health risks of Montana students, enabling districts to design local health and physical education curriculum…

Background: The United States has more than 90% of all youth firearm deaths that occur in high-income countries. Purpose: We summarize the epidemiological literature on the prevalence, risk factors, and protective factors associated with adolescent homicides and suicides and the role of firearms in the loss of these lives. Methods: A systematic…

In recent years, there has been a growing social, educational, and public policy focus on investigating the correlates associated with youth carrying weapons in their communities and schools. Victimization and other correlates such as drug use and violent risk behaviors among youth have been linked to deviant behavior including weapon carrying.…

Background: In 2013, President Obama lifted the federal ban on gun violence research. The current study provides one of the first reports to estimate household gun ownership as reported by youth. Methods: In this cohort study of 3,006 high school seniors from 24 schools, we examined the frequency of household guns ownership. Results: About 65%…

Background: In this cross-sectional study we explored relationships between aggressive and violent behaviors and emotional self-efficacy (ESE) in a statewide sample of public high school adolescents in South Carolina (N = 3836). Methods: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavior Survey items on aggressive and violent…

Guided by the interpersonal theory of suicide, this study examines the associations between gun carrying, bullying, and suicidal behaviors among high school students. Arizona Youth Risk Behavior Surveys were completed by 2,677 students in 2011; 9.0% reported suicide attempt in the past year, 5.5% carried a gun in the past 30 days, 8.5% were…

High profile school shootings have served as pivotal events for developing policies to promote student safety. Although previous studies indicate that exposure to violence is associated with feeling unsafe at school and poorer academic and psychosocial outcomes, research on the relationship between widely publicized acts of school violence and…

The Montana Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is administered by the Montana Office of Public Instruction every two years to students in grades 7 through 12. The purpose of the survey is to help monitor the prevalence of behaviors that not only influence youth health, but also put youth at risk for the most significant health and social problems…

Firearms in the home are associated with increased injury risk, especially when loaded and unlocked. In this study, 5,010 fifth-graders and their caregivers in three U.S. metropolitan areas participated in the 2004-2006 Healthy Passages study on adolescent health. Firearm ownership and storage patterns were examined by four self-reported…

Background: Overweight adolescents engage in risk behaviors at different rates than healthy-weight peers. Most extant research has focused on white or regional samples. Purpose: This article examined associations between weight and risk behaviors and determined whether associations differ by race/ethnicity. Methods: Youth Risk Behavior Survey data…

Aggressive and weapons carrying behaviors are indicative of youth violence. The theory of planned behavior is used in the current analysis to improve our understanding of violence-related behaviors. We examine the influence of perceived behavioral control (self-control and decision making) as a part of the overall framework for understanding the…

The Montana Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is administered by the Montana Office of Public Instruction every two years to students in grades 7 through 12. The purpose of the survey is to help monitor the prevalence of behaviors that not only influence youth health, but also put youth at risk for the most significant health and social problems…

That males have higher suicide rates than females is one of the most empirically documented social facts in suicidology, but the reasons for this continue to be debated. For the present paper, we tested a neglected contributing factor to the gender suicide ratio: wound site or the area of the body that is wounded in firearm suicides. Males may…