PREDICTING WHY KIDS CARRY GUNS

High school students of above average age for their class are more likely to carry guns in school, a recent study found. Dr. D. Neil Hayes of the Boston University School of Medicine and David Hemenway '74 of the Harvard School of Public Health drew this conclusion from a study of 59 Massachusetts high schools.

Studies in other states have produced similar results, Hemenway said yesterday, but this was the first study that specifically analyzed the age factor. The study was done through the Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey (MYRBS) which asked students a series of 10 questions that measured their propensity for violent behavior.

The survey was given to a random sampling of 3153 students at the 59 schools, and measured several factors in relation to a student's tendency to carry a gun in school. These included age, race, gender, gang membership and propensity for being involved in fights with other students.

It was concluded from the results of the survey and subsequent study that students in ninth to 11th grades who were significantly older than the average students in their class were more likely to carry guns in school.

There were also many other factors that were found in common among gun-carrying students. These included an larger-than-average number of male students, smokers, students who used drugs or alcohol or who had been involved in criminal activity in the past.

Conclusive evidence has not been found on which grade level is most likely to see students carrying guns.

The study found that the increasing age of a student relative to the average of their class also had a strong correlation with increased behavioral problems and negative self-image.

According to Hayes and Hemenway, students may be above-average age for their class because they have failed previous grades.

This puts them at a higher risk for behavior problems and absenteeism. They are also more likely to have a low self-esteem and feel isolated from their peers. These factors, Hayes and Hemenway believe, could be the reasons that older students within their grades carry guns more often.

Hemenway said he thinks that the problem is not the inherent violent tendencies of these students. Many students surveyed indicated that they carried a gun for protection, because they felt threatened by other students who had guns. Hemenway said he sees this as a problem with the supply of guns to students.

He cited a recent survey in the Boston Public Schools about gun carrying that showed that many students carried a gun, but wished that they did not have to.

"Most kids in the Boston Public Schools said that it was pretty easy to get guns, but only 5 percent wanted them to be available. Seventy-five percent want a place where people can't get guns," he said.

Hemenway said that although gun violence is a real problem, with 90 people dying in Massachusetts every day as a result of gun violence, there is not an adequate amount of awareness about it. He said he thinks that studies like this one will promote public awareness.

"The key thing is that what we really need is better data on what is happening and why," Hemenway said, "Anytime someone dies in a motor vehicle accident, we have lots of information on it, and this is not true in gun fatality. In the motor vehicle area, there are a lot of evaluation studies."

Hemenway said that if there were more studies done on factors that affect gun violence, school counselors and clinicians would be better able to assess students' problems and help them. If counselors can better understand the warning signs for those with the potential for violence, they may be able to stop them.

He said school counselors who usually talk to kids about things like drugs and sex should also address the issue of school violence and the risks of carrying guns in school.

"If clinicians are going to talk to kids about a variety of issues, one of the issues that kids have to worry about these days is violence," Hemenway said.

He said that if counselors know what factors to look for, they could direct their attention to students who could pose a risk to the school.

"You would want to watch them more carefully," Hemenway said. "If you found out a kid has been in fights, you would want to talk to them about it."

Hayes and Hemenway did not directly study the actual use of guns once they were brought into schools, but it is likely, Hemenway said, that those who carry guns into schools would be the ones likely to use them.

Hayes and Hemenway said that the problem of high school students using firearms has not been properly addressed because of the fact that the factors that they analyze, such as tendency to use drugs or participate in illegal activities, are difficult to quantify exactly.

"I think that what's happened in the last 10 to 15 years is that the public community had become aware of what a serious problem gun violence is," Hemenway said. "Better studies and powerful organizations are pushing for changes. This is just one study, and you need a lot of studies."