142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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305743
Predictors of Weapon-Related Violence Among Latino Youth

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014 : 3:10 PM - 3:30 PM

Rashmi Shetgiri, MD , Department of Pediatrics, Division of General Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Children's Medical Center, Dallas, TX
Denise Boots, PhD , Economic, Political, and Policy Sciences, Program in Criminology, deniseboots@utdallas.edu, Richardson, TX
Hua Lin, PhD , Department of Pediatrics, Division of General Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
Tina L. Cheng, MD, MPH , General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
Background

16% of Latino youth report weapon-carrying, but little is known about predictors of weapon-related violence among Latinos.

Methods

The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health consists of interviews with a nationally representative, school-based clustered sample of 7th-12th grade students and their parents. Predictors at Wave 1, and the outcome at Wave 2, were analyzed among Latinos. The outcome was self-reported involvement in weapon-related violence in the past 12 months. A dichotomous violence-involvement measure was created using 3 items (weapon-carrying, pulled gun/knife, shot/stabbed someone). Bivariate and multilevel stepwise logistic regression analyses examined associations of individual, peer, family, and school characteristics with violence involvement.

 Results

10% of the Latino adolescents in this sample reported weapon-related violence involvement in the past 12 months. In bivariate analyses, male gender, emotional distress, violence exposure, smoking, drug use, peer delinquency, educational aspirations, and low family and school connectedness were associated with violence involvement. In multivariable analyses, male gender, violence exposure (OR 3.2; 95% CI, 1.8-5.9), drug use (OR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.8-4.8), and emotional distress (OR 2.1; 95% CI, 1.2-3.7) predicted weapon-violence involvement, whereas higher educational aspirations (OR 0.7; 95% CI, 0.6-0.9) and increasing age were protective.

Conclusions

One in ten Latino youth reported weapon-related violence involvement. Male gender, violence exposure, drug use, and emotional distress may be important risk factors, and high educational aspirations and older age may be protective. Addressing emotional distress, violence exposure, and drug use, and promoting educational aspirations may be effective strategies for reducing weapon-related violence among Latino youth.

Learning Areas:

Diversity and culture
Epidemiology
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Identify individual, family, peer, and school factors that predict weapon-related violence involvement among Latinos.

Keyword(s): Youth Violence, Violence & Injury Prevention

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have conducted several studies on youth violence and the influence of cultural and contextual factors on violence among Latino children and adolescents, and am funded by the NIH to conduct research on this topic.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4338.0: Health of Latino youth