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Maltreatment History and Weapon Carrying Among Early Adolescents

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Terri.Lewis{at}mail.cscc.unc.edu

Rebecca Leeb

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Jonathan Kotch

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Jamie Smith

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Richard Thompson

Juvenile Protective Association

Maureen M. Black

University of Maryland School of Medicine

Melissa Pelaez-Merrick

San Diego State University and University of California, San Diego

Ernestine Briggs

Duke University Medical Center

Tamera Coyne-Beasley

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

This study examines the role of maltreatment in weapon carrying among 12-year-old youth (N = 797) interviewed as part of the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN), an ongoing study of the antecedents and consequences of child maltreatment. Participants reported their physical and sexual abuse history and provided responses to items assessing perceived need for a weapon and weapon carrying. There were no gender differences in rates of self-reported physical or sexual abuse. Males were more likely than females to report weapon carrying and perceived need for a weapon. A mediation analysis was conducted to examine the mediating effect of perceived need for a weapon on the association between abuse and weapon carrying. Results indicated that perceived need for a weapon fully mediated the effect of physical abuse and partially mediated the effect of sexual abuse. Results are discussed in the context of self-protection theory.

Key Words: weapon • adolescents • abuse • self-protection

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