Although studies have identified risk factors for adolescent handgun carrying, previous research on risk factors for carrying a handgun to school specifically is sparse. This study examines self-report data from 122,840 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students from 426 schools across Arizona, from three survey administrations (2014, 2016, and 2018). In…

Many studies have examined significant factors associated with school delinquency among adolescents, including relationship violence, property damage, and other serious threats to students' safety. However, students' coping behaviors after being victims of or witnesses to violence and other forms of delinquency have not been thoroughly examined.…

Previous research debates whether public school choice improves students' academic outcomes, but there is little examination of its effects on their nonacademic outcomes. We use data from a nationally representative sample of high school students, a previously developed Tiebout choice measure, and metropolitan-level data on teenage arrest rates to…

The Student Substance Use and Safety Survey, administered annually to a random, representative sample of AISD students, provides self-report data on student knowledge, attitudes, and behavior related to substance use and school safety issues. This report summarizes district results for Spring 2013.

The extent to which both traumatic life experiences and resiliency factors contributed to gang-involved delinquent behavior in adolescent males was investigated. Results indicated that the juvenile delinquent residential treatment setting participants had significantly higher levels of both Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptomatology and…

Risk-taking behavior includes alcohol and drug use, delinquency, acts of aggression, sexual activity, and so on. Many studies have explored the relationship between adolescents and risk-taking behavior; however, only a few studies have examined this link in adolescents with learning disabilities (LD) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder…

This study examined the specific nature of the relationship between involvement in various risk-taking behaviors and levels of gang involvement. Forty-nine high school students, 24 girls and 25 boys, ages 14 to 18, from a rural Texas community, completed a gang involvement questionnaire and the Risk Inventory and Perception Scale during individual…

Examined the relationship between various methods of operationalizing gang membership and delinquency. Surveys of inner city adolescents indicated that teens reporting membership in organized gangs were far more likely to believe their gangs possessed characteristics typically associated with traditional street gangs. Teens who considered…

This research summarizes the results of a study involving 835 inmates in six major correctional facilities within several states and 758 inner-city students from 10 high schools near the facilities, concerning the number and types of firearms juveniles possess as well as where, how, and why juveniles acquire and carry firearms. Research focused on…

Investigated factors associated with gang involvement among rural and urban adolescents using data from a sample of 1,183 Nevada students in grades 7 through 12. There was no significant difference in gang membership or pressure to join gangs between the rural and urban samples, but there were differences on other gang and violence indicators.…

Substance Use and HIV Prevention Program (SHIP) is a school-based intervention model designed to reverse detrimental trajectories in nonsexual (i.e., substance use) and sexual behaviors by adapting two research-supported interventions: Reconnecting Youth and Street Smart. The Social Development Model provides the theoretical and conceptual basis.…

This ERIC digest examines the growth and nature of juvenile gangs and the growing problem they present in the nation's public schools. It explores the characteristics of gangs, the impact gangs are having on public schools, why gangs develop and why students join them, what the schools' responses have been to gangs, and effective interactions for…

This study examines the relative influence of peer and parenting behavior on changes in adolescent gang involvement and gang-related delinquency. An ethnically diverse sample of 300 urban ninth-grade students was recruited and assessed on 8 occasions during the school year. Analyses were conducted using hierarchical linear modeling. Results…

Examines the utility of applying selected elements of the social-learning theory to the examination of youth gangs. Studying ninth-grade public-school pupils, researchers discovered that the social-learning perspective provided insights into gang membership. Group-context offending was related to both social-learning theory and gang membership.…

Sampling the wide spectrum of opinions reflected in the current literature on the topic, this booklet presents an annotated bibliography and other materials designed to assist high school debaters in researching whether the United States government should establish a program to substantially reduce juvenile crime in the United States. The…