Citation

Benbenishty R, Astor RA. J. School Violence 2021; 20(4): 445-457.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/15388220.2021.1935979

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study assessed the prevalence of weapon-related behaviors and experiences in secondary schools in California, their intercorrelations, and predictors at the individual and school levels. This study is based on a representative sample of 889,726 secondary school students in California based on the California Healthy Kids Survey. Prevalence ranged from 3.1% of students carrying gun to 17.9% who saw another student with a weapon. In 3.3% of schools, more than 15% of students carried a weapon and in 5.8% of schools, 15% or more were injured or threatened with weapons. The strongest predictors were the number of transgender students, gang members, and victimized students, particularly those victimized because of their disability. A public-health approach is advocated.

Language: en

Keywords

gun; knife; School violence; school-level; weapon