Factors that influence whether adolescents carry a handgun

Abstract

The common perception that gun violence is often related to youth with mental health conditions has been sparsely detailed in the literature. The purpose of this thesis is to explore whether clinically depressed adolescents are statistically more likely to carry a handgun than non-clinically depressed adolescents, and to furthermore examine other factors which might lead a youth to carry a handgun. The data used for this project comes from the 2013 National Survey of Drug Use and Health 2013 (N=17,736). After conducting an Ordinary Least Squared (OLS) regression analysis, there was no evidence that those who suffered a major depressive episode within the past year were more likely to carry a handgun than those without such an episode. However, other factors such as drug usage, prior violent activities, and whether or not an adolescent had someone to talk to were all significant factors effecting whether or not an adolescent carried a handgun. The findings are important for helping to understand the relationship between mental health, the need for social support, and violence in the lives of juveniles. The findings indicate that further research needs to explore the types of social support that adolescents need in order to lessen the possibility that they will carry a handgun.