NCJ Number
197927
Date Published
2002
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This report presents information on the link between carrying a handgun and the use of illicit drugs and alcohol among youths 12- to 17-years-old.
Abstract
This report presents data from the 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA). This survey included questions about the prevalence of handgun carrying in addition to questions about illicit drug use among youths 12- to 17-years-old. According to the survey, almost 4 percent, or 833,000 youths admitted to carrying a handgun at least once during the past year. Males were 6 times more likely than females to report carrying a handgun. Nonmetropolitan youths were the most likely to report carrying a handgun, followed by youths in small metropolitan areas. Academic performance among these gun-totting youths was lower than among other youths and those carrying guns were more likely to report using illicit drugs and alcohol than their unarmed peers. According to the 1999 NHSDA, approximately 30 percent of youths who reported carrying a handgun on one or more occasions in the past year, also reported binge drinking at least once in the month prior to the survey. In comparison, 9 percent of youths who did not carry guns reported binge drinking during the past month. Finally, this NHSDA report reveals that youths who reported using illicit drugs in the past year were three times more likely to also report carrying a handgun during the same period. Similarly, youths who engaged in heavy alcohol use in the month prior to the survey were five times as likely to have carried a handgun during the past year than those youths who did not engage in heavy binge drinking behavior. 4 Figures