Youth gun violence is most often a group phenomenon yet most empirical examinations ignore this fact. Using interview data with 416 violent male offenders from two disadvantaged New York City neighborhoods, this paper examines the roles that the peer contexts play in explaining the nuanced patterns of respondent gun-related behaviors. We hypothesize that respondents who are comparatively more embedded in networks of peers who carry and use guns will also report greater involvement in serious gun violence. We found that guns were equated with self-protection and the most prevalent reason given for possession and carrying behaviors of peers. Belonging to a group of associates was also perceived to have protective value. Guns and armed peers played a role in heightened risk for lethal conflict. Peers are involved as co-offenders in the majority of gun events reported. We discuss the implications of our findings for violence intervention policy and future research.
Bjerregaard, B., & Lizotte, A. (1995). Gun ownership and gang membership. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 86(1), 37-58.
2.
Braga, A.A., & Kennedy, D.M. (2001). The illicit acquisition of firearms by youth and juveniles. Journal of Criminal Justice, 29, 379-388.
3.
Callahan, C.M., & Rivara, F.P. (1992). Urban high school youth and handguns. Journal of the American Medical Association, 267, 3039-3042.
4.
Carlson, K.T. (2006). Poverty and youth violence exposure: Experiences in rural communities. Children & Schools, 28(2), 87-96.
5.
CDC Wonder. (2006). Compressed Mortality Data (Underlying cause of death). Retrieved January 18, 2007, from http://wonder.cdc.gov/mortSQL.html
6.
Conway, K.P., & McCord, J. (2002). A longitudinal examination of the relation between co-offending with violent accomplices and violent crime. Aggressive Behavior, 28, 97-108.
7.
Cook, P.J., & Laub, J.H. (1998). The unprecedented epidemic in youth violence. In M. Tonry & M. Moore (Eds.), Crime and justice: Annual review of research (Vol. 24, pp. 27-64). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
8.
Cook, P.J., & Ludwig, J. (2004). Does gun prevalence affect teen gun carrying after all? Criminology, 42(1), 27-54.
9.
Decker, S.H., Pennell, S., & Caldwell, S. (1995). Arrestees and guns monitoring the illegal firearms market. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.
10.
Ding, C.S., Nelsen, E.A., & Lassonde, C.T. (2002). Correlates of gun involvement and aggressiveness among adolescents. Youth & Society , 34(2), 195.
11.
Fagan, J.A., & Wilkinson, D.L. (1997). Firearms and youth violence . In D. Stoff, J. Belinger, & J. Maser (Eds.), Handbook of antisocial behavior (pp. 551-567). New York: Wiley.
12.
Fagan, J.A., & Wilkinson, D.L. (1998a). Guns, youth violence, and social identity in inner cities. In M. Tonry & M. Moore (Eds.), Crime and justice: Annual review of research (Vol. 24, pp. 105-187). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
13.
Fagan, J.A., & Wilkinson, D.L. (1998b). The social contexts and functions of adolescent violence. In D. S. Elliott, B. A. Hamburg, & K. Williams (Eds.), Violence in American schools (pp. 55-93). Cambridge, UK and New York: Cambridge University Press.
14.
Fagan, J.A., Wilkinson, D.L., & Davies, G. (2007). Social contagion of violence. In D. Flannery, A. Vazsonyi , & I. Waldman (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of violent behavior and aggression (pp. 688-723). Cambridge, UK and New York: Cambridge University Press.
15.
Felson, R.B. (1982). Impression management and the escalation of aggression and violence. Social Psychology Quarterly, 45, 245-254.
16.
Felson, R.B., & Steadman, H.J. (1983). Situational factors in disputes leading to criminal violence. Criminology, 21(1), 59-74.
17.
Forrest, K.Y., Zychowski, A.K., Stuhldreher, W.L., & Ryan, W.J. (2000). Weapon-carrying in school: Prevalence and association with other violent behaviors. American Journal of Health Studies , 16(3), 133-140.
18.
Harris, L. (1993). A survey of experiences, perceptions, and apprehensions about guns among young people in America. Cambridge, MA : School of Public Health, Harvard University.
19.
Huff, R. (1998). Comparing the criminal behavior of youth gangs and at-risk youths: Research in Brief. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.
20.
Inciardi, J.A., Horowitz, R., & Pottieger, A.E. (1993). Street kids, street drugs, street crime. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth .
21.
Kann, L., Warren, C.W., Harris, W.A., Collins, J.A., Williams, B.I., Ross, J.G., & Kolbe, L.J. (1996). Youth risk behavior surveillance: United States 1995. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 45(SS-4), 1-63.
22.
Kahn, D.J., Kazimi, M.M., & Mulvihill, M.N. (2001). Attitudes of New York City high school students regarding firearm violence. Pediatrics , 107, 1125.
23.
Kann, L., Warren, C.W., Harris, W.A., Collins, J.A., Williams, B.I., Ross, J.G., & Kolbe, L.J. (1996). Youth risk behavior surveillance: United States 1995. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 45(SS-4), 1-63.
24.
Klein, M.W., & Maxson, C.L. (2006). Street gang patterns and policies. New York: Oxford University Press.
25.
Lizotte, A.J., Howard, G.J., Krohn, M.D., & Thornberry, T.P. (1996). Patterns of illegal gun carrying among young urban males. Valparaiso University Law Review, 31, 375-393.
26.
Lizotte, A.J., & Sheppard, D. (2001). Gun use by male juveniles: Research and prevention (Juvenile Justice Bulletin, NCJ 188992). Washington, DC : U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Luckenbill, D.F. (1977). Homicide as a situated transaction. Social Problems, 25, 176-186.
29.
Luckenbill, D.F., & Doyle, D.P. (1989). Structural position and violence: Developing a cultural explanation. Criminology, 27, 419-436.
30.
Luster, T., & Oh, S.M. (2001). Correlates of male adolescents carrying handguns among their peers. Journal of Marriage & Family, 63, 714.
31.
Mateu-Gelabert, P. (2002). Dreams, gangs, and guns: The interplay between adolescent violence and immigration in a New York City neighborhood. Report to theNational Institute of Justice. New York: Vera Institute of Justice.
32.
McCord, J., & Conway, K.P. (2005). Co-offending and patterns of juvenile crime (Research in Brief, NCJ 210360). Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.
33.
McGloin, J.M., Sullivan, C.J., Piquero, A.R., & Bacon, S. (2008). Investigating the stability of cooffending and co-offenders among a sample of youthful offenders. Criminology , 46, 155-187.
34.
Miller, M., & Hemenway, D. (2004). Unsupervised firearm handling by California adolescents . Injury Prevention, 10, 163-168.
35.
Molnar, B., Miller, M., Azrael, D., & Buka, S. (2004). Neighborhood predictors of concealed firearm carrying among children and adolescents. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 158, 657-664.
36.
Oliver, W. (1998). The violent social world of black men. New York: Lexington.
37.
Reiss, A.J. (1986). Co-offender influences on criminal careers. In A. Blumstein, J. Cohen, J. Roth, & C. Visher (Eds.), Criminal careers and career criminals (pp. 121-160). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
38.
Rountree, P.W. (2000). Weapons at school: Are the predictors generalizable across context? Sociological Spectrum, 20, 291-324.
39.
Schubiner, H., Scott, R., & Tzelelpis, A. (1993). Exposure to violence among inner-city youth. Journal of Adolescent Health, 14, 214-219.
40.
Shaw, C.T., & McKay, H.D. (1931). Report on the causes of crime (Vol. 2). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
41.
Sheley, J., & Wright, J. (1995). In the line of lire: Youth, guns, and violence in urban America. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
42.
Sheley, J., & Wright, J. (1998). High school youths, weapons, and violence: A national survey. Washington, DC: Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.
43.
Sheley, J., Wright, J., & Smith, M.D. (1993). Firearms, violence and inner-city youth: A report of research findings. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.
44.
Short, J., & Nye, F.I. (1958). Reported behavior as a criterion of deviant behavior . Social Problems, 5, 296-302.
45.
Slovak, K. (2002). Gun violence and children: Factors related to exposure and trauma. Health & Social Work, 27(2), 104.
46.
Sorenson, S.B., & Vittes, K.A. (2004). Adolescents and firearms: A California statewide study. American Journal of Public Health, 94, 852-858.
47.
Strauss, A.L. (1987). Qualitative analysis for social scientists. Cambridge, UK and New York: Cambridge University Press.
48.
Sutherland, E. (1927). Social aspects of crime. Proceedings of the Conference of the National Crime Commission, Washington, DC, 156-157.
49.
Tedeschi, J.T., & Felson, R. (1994). Violence, aggression, and coercive actions. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association .
50.
Warr, M. (1996). Organization and instigation in delinquent groups . Criminology, 34(1), 11-37.
51.
Warr, M. (2002). Companions in crime: The social aspects of criminal conduct. New York: Cambridge University Press.
52.
Watters, J.K., & Biernacki, P. (1989). Targeted sampling: Options for the study of hidden populations. Social Problems, 36, 416-430.
53.
Webster, D., Gainer, P.S., & Champion, H.R. (1993). Weapon carrying among inner-city junior high school students: Defensive behavior vs. aggressive delinquency . American Journal of Public Health, 83, 1604-1608.
54.
Weerman, F.M. (2003). Co-offending as social exchange: Explaining characteristics of co-offending. British Journal of Criminology, 43, 398-416.
55.
Wilkinson, D.L. (2003). Guns, violence and identity among African-American and Latino youth. New York: LFB .
56.
Wilkinson, D.L., & Carr, P.J. (2008). Violent Youths' Responses to High Levels of Exposure to Community Violence: What Violent Events Reveal about Youth Violence. Journal of Community Psychology, 36(8): 1026-1051.
57.
Wilkinson, D.L., & Fagan, J.A. (1996, Winter). The role of firearms in violence "scripts": The dynamics of gun events among adolescent males. Law and Contemporary Problems, 59(1), 55-90.
58.
Wilkinson, D.L., & Fagan, J.A. (2001). What we know about gun use among adolescents. Clinical Child & Family Psychology Review, 4(2), 109-132.
59.
Williams, S.S., Mulhall, P.S., Reis, J.S., & DeVille, J.O. (2002). Adolescents carrying handguns and taking them to school: Psychosocial correlates among public school students in Illinois . Journal of Adolescence, 25, 551.
60.
Wolcott, H.F. (1994). Transforming qualitative data: Description analysis and interpretation. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
61.
Wolfgang, M.E. (1958). Patterns of criminal homicide. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
62.
Zimmerman, M.A., Morrel-Samuels, S., Wong, N., Tarver, D., Rabiah, D., & White, S. (2004). Guns, gangs, and gossip. Journal of Early Adolescence, 24, 385-411.
63.
Zimring, F.E. (1999). American youth violence. New York: Oxford University Press.
