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Almost 25% of teen assault victims reported gun possession

Nearly 25% of adolescents presenting to the ED for assault injuries reported that they owned or carried a gun in the last 6 months, according to data published in Pediatrics.

“This study zeroes in on a high-risk population of assault-injured youth that has not been studied in this way previously,” Patrick M. Carter, MD, a clinical lecturer and injury research fellow at the University of Michigan Medical School, said in a press release. “The high rates of substance use, fighting and attitudes favoring retaliation, combined with the fact that so many of these youth had firearms, increases their risk for future firearm violence, as well as injury or death.”

Carter and colleagues surveyed youth (n=689) aged 14 to 24 years who presented to an ED in Flint, Mich., for treatment of injuries related to assault. Using validated measures, the researchers analyzed demographics, firearm rates, the youths’ attitudes toward aggression, substance use, and prior history of violence.

Among the youth surveyed, 23.1% said they had possessed a firearm in the past 6 months, and only 17% of those obtained the weapon legally. According to the researchers, 22% of the youth owned highly lethal automatic or semiautomatic weapons, and 37.1% said they possessed a firearm for protection.

Further analyses indicated that male gender, higher socioeconomic status, illicit drug use, a recent serious fight and retaliatory attitudes were significantly associated with firearm possession.

Although Flint has the highest violent crime rate compared with any city in the United States with a population of more than 100,000, Carter said the risk factors seen in the cohort are likely endemic.

According to Carter, the findings underscore a serious problem among youth, but they may present “an opportunity for public health interventions that could decrease [this population’s] future firearm violence risk.”

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.