Youths Who Carry Handguns. The NHSDA Report

摘要

Recent high-profile cases of gun violence have drawn attention to the problem of youths who carry handguns. More than 80 percent of homicide victims aged 15 to 19 years old between 1988 and 1997 were killed using firearms, and homicide is the second leading cause of death among teenagers and young adults (i.e., persons aged 15 to 24 years old). The 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) includes information on the prevalence of handgun carrying in the past year among youths aged 12 to 17, and the survey enables an examination of links between carrying handguns and the use of illicit drugs and alcohol among youths.