Factors preventing gun acquisition and carrying among incarcerated adolescent males

Context: Despite the wide availability of guns in the United States, not al l delinquent adolescents own guns and not all adolescent gun owners carry t hem at all times. Research about the factors that prevent high-risk youth f rom acquiring and carrying guns is limited. Objective: To determine, from the perspective of incarcerated adolescent ma les, factors that prevent acquiring or carrying guns, either on a temporary or permanent basis. Design bad getting: In-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted with randomly selected incarcerated adolescent males at a residential juvenile justice facility from January to May 1998. Transcribed interviews were exam ined for recurrent themes. Participants: Forty-five incarcerated adolescent males. Main Outcome Measures:Reported factors limiting gun acquisition and carryin g. Results: Seventy-one percent of the sample had either owned or carried a gu n out of their home. We identified 6 recurring themes that, at least on occ asion, prevented or delayed delinquent youth from acquiring or carrying gun s. The most commonly cited factors were fear of being arrested and incarcer ated and lack of perceived need for a gun. Other themes included not wantin g to hurt oneself or others, respect for the opinions of others, inability to find a source for a desired gun, and lack of money to acquire a desired gun. Conclusions: We identified 6 factors that limited gun acquisition and carry ing among a sample of incarcerated male adolescents. Knowledge of these fac tors should inform intervention efforts to reduce youth gun acquisition and carrying.