WestEd News
Staff from the WestEd Justice & Prevention Research Center Publish in Crime & Delinquency
Article: Proximity of Gun Stores to High Schools and Student Gun Carrying
Publication: Crime & Delinquency
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Publication Date: January 31, 2020
WestEd Authors: Gary Zhang, Jonathan Nakamoto, Staci Wendt
Related WestEd Program: Health and Justice Program
Abstract:
Although research has examined various correlates of weapon and gun carrying at school and among adolescents, it has yet to consider the relationship between gun stores around schools and the carrying of guns at school.
This study uses data from the 2015–2016 California Healthy Kids Survey, the California Department of Education, and geocoded data on public high schools and gun stores in Orange County, California, to examine the association between proximity of gun stores to schools and the carrying of guns by high school students.
Using geographic information system analysis and hierarchical logistic regression, results indicate that the proximity of gun stores to schools is significantly associated with self-reported gun carrying at school. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.
Posted on March 8, 2020