THE ASSOCIATION OF WEAPON CARRYING AND FIGHTING ON SCHOOL PROPERTY AND OTHER HEALTH RISK AND PROBLEM BEHAVIORS AMONG HIGH-SCHOOL-STUDENTS

Objective : To examine the association between weapon carrying on scho ol property and engaging in health risk and problem behaviors such as fighting and substance use on school property, fear of attending schoo l, and victimization at school. Design: A complex 2-stage probability survey (Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey). Setting: High schoo ls in Massachusetts. Participants: Three thousand fifty-four high scho ol students. Main Outcome Measure: Number of days a weapon was carried on school property during the 30 days prior to the survey. Results: T he prevalence of self-reported weapon carrying on school property was 15% among male students and 546 among female students (P<.001). Weapon carrying on school property was significantly (P<.001) associate with frequency of physical fights on school property (r=0.26), being a vic tim of threat or injury with a weapon on school property (r=0.27), bei ng a victim of stolen or damaged goods on school property (r=0.14), no t attending school owing to fear (r=0.15), and substance use while at school, including smoking cigarettes (r=0.20), using chewing tobacco ( r=0.18), smoking marijuana (r=0.24), and using alcohol (r=0.29). The a ssociation between weapon carrying and alcohol use in school was highe r amongs students who were afraid to come to school (r=0.49) than amon g students who were not afraid (r=0.28). Students who had engaged in s ame-sex sexual activity (P<.001) or had been offered, given, or sold i llicit drugs at school (P<.001) were more likely to carry a weapon at school. Multiple regression analysis showed that male sex and the freq uencies of physical fighting, being a victim of a threat or injury; dr inking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, and being offered or sold an illic it drug while on school property accounted for 21% of the variance in weapon carrying in school. When weapon carrying was dichotomized and a nalyzed with logistic regression, a model containing age, male sex, lo wer academic achievement,days nor attending school owing to fear, time s threatened or injured with a weapon at school, frequency of fighting at school, cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and being offered or sold illicit drugs on school property correctly classified 91.83% of the st udents who did or did not carry weapons. Conclusions: Weapon carrying at school was more strongly associated more with use of violence and t he use of substances at school than with previous victimization and fe ar of attending school. However, there is a subgroup of students that seems to have been victimization school, is afraid to come to school, is using alcohol at school, and is carrying weapons at school.