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A brand new Penn Nursing research led by Jungwon Min, PhD, MS, Analysis Professor and Director of the BECCA Lab, uncovers a major affiliation between neighborhood firearm violence publicity, involvement in preventing, and adolescents’ perceived capability to acquire a firearm exterior the house. The analysis seems within the American Journal of Preventive Drugs.
The research, Neighborhood Firearm Violence, Psychosocial Dangers, and Youth Firearm Notion, highlights that adolescents residing in neighborhoods with increased charges of firearm violence usually tend to understand firearms as accessible exterior the house, even when they don’t have firearms at residence. Combating conduct was discovered to mediate 32% of the connection between neighborhood firearm violence and perceived outside-home firearm availability, pointing to the layered dangers confronted by youth in high-violence settings.
“Our findings underscore the urgent need for interventions that address youth firearm access not just within the home, but also in community contexts,” mentioned Min. “Both structural and individual-level factors—like neighborhood violence and fighting behavior—shape how youth perceive firearm availability. The emergency department, where many of these youth are seen, is a crucial setting for early identification and intervention.”
The cross-sectional research analyzed 23,334 emergency division visits by youth aged 14–18 years who accomplished behavioral well being screenings between 2013 and 2024. Researchers linked self-reported knowledge on perceived firearm availability and psychosocial dangers to police-reported shootings and the Little one Alternative Index on the census tract stage.
This analysis emphasizes that perceived firearm availability shouldn’t be solely decided by neighborhood drawback however is considerably influenced by particular person behaviors like preventing. The research means that ED-based screening for perceived firearm availability may very well be a significant step in stopping youth firearm carriage and future violence.
Co-authors embody Vicky Tam, MA, Stephanie Mayne, PhD, MHS, Polina Krass, MD, and Joel A. Fein, MD, MPH.
Extra data:
Jungwon Min et al, Neighborhood Firearm Violence, Psychosocial Dangers, and Youth Firearm Notion, American Journal of Preventive Drugs (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2025.107741
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College of Pennsylvania Faculty of Nursing
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New research reveals essential hyperlink between neighborhood violence, youth preventing, and perceived firearm availability (2025, July 24)
retrieved 24 July 2025
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