Prevalence of Youth Access to Alcohol or a Gun in the Home

Author: Swahn, M. H. / Hammig, B. J. / Ikeda, R. M.
Publication: Injury Prevention
Link to Published Abstract
Topics: Age Group Alcohol Ethnicity Gun Carrying
Keywords: Adolescent Cross-Sectional Studies Data Collection Firearms Risk Factors
Bibliographic information +

The authors used cross-sectional data from the 1995 in-home survey of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to evaluate the national prevalence of adolescents', aged 12-18 years, access to alcohol, a gun, or both alcohol and a gun, in their home and to describe the demographic characteristics associated with such access. Out of 18,454 surveyed youth, nearly 29% reported having easy access to alcohol and 24% easy access to a gun. Access to alcohol or guns was associated with race/ethnicity, mother's education, family structure, and welfare status. Among youth who had gun access, 63% reported that a shotgun was available, followed by a rifle (61%) and handgun (57%). 10% of youth had access to both alcohol and a gun.