Gun Deaths Declining Among U.S. Teens, Young Adults

Josey1

Gun Deaths Declining Among U.S. Teens, Young Adults By Esther Csapo Rastegari NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Gun violence among teens and young adults declined during the 1990s, according to an analysis of national data presented recently at the Society for Adolescent Medicine's annual meeting in Boston. The father-daughter team of Dr. Lawrence J. D'Angelo and Marisa K. D'Angelo found good news in firearm-related information from the National Center for Health Statistics and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance. While deaths and injuries from firearm-related incidents have played a major role in the lives of teenagers, the D'Angelos found, the trend in such incidents over the past 8 to 10 years has been a downward one. In 1990, there were 25.8 firearm-related deaths per 100,000 people aged 15 to 24 in the United States. This number had declined to 19.9 per 100,000 by 1998. While the decline was seen in all ethnic groups, it was most dramatic among African-American and African-Caribbean males, the researchers found, falling from 138 per 100,000 population to 101.8 per 100,000 over the same time period. This decline was mirrored in other statistics. The percentage of youth who reported having carried a gun in the past 30 days fell from 7.9% in 1993 to 4.9% in 1999. In 1991, 42.5% of youths reported having been in the fight in the past 30 days, while 35.7% reported fighting in the past 30 days in 1999. The number of young people who reported contemplating suicide in the past year also fell, from 29% in 1991 to 19.3% in 1999. While the reasons behind the decline are unclear, the results contradict the "common perception that gun violence is going up," D'Angelo said. He added that while school-related firearm incidents such as Columbine have led to a heightened awareness about this issue, "it is improperly being reported. Adolescents are once again unfairly being stigmatized in terms of their behavior, while in reality they are making remarkable progress." He added, "Reporters don't want this information, because it doesn't sell newspapers, and it doesn't make it on to the TV stations." Compared to other countries, D'Angelo said, "we still live in a relative climate of violence, but things are actually getting better. Whatever parents are doing at home, whatever is being done in the schools and in the community may not be enough, but something is taking hold. I don't think we can say what it is, but we just have to be honest about it and say that it is taking hold, and that change is beginning to be seen." Another study presented at the meeting looked at teens' awareness of gun violence. Drs. Bita Arabshahi and Anthony Acquavella of St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, conducted a survey of 50 youth aged 13 to 19 waiting in three hospital-based pediatric clinics. About two-thirds of the teens surveyed were female, and 80% were African American. The researchers found that while 12% of the teens had personally been threatened with a gun, 68% had close friends or family members who had been exposed to gun violence. Seventy-eight percent had received gun-related education in school, but only about half of the study participants had discussed the issue with a parent. "Communicating to teens about guns is crucial no matter where you live in this country," Arabshahi said. "The estimates are that if the rates of gun violence continue, it will be the leading cause of death among American teenagers." She added, "Schools have a big responsibility to educate teens about (gun violence), but parents should not forget that a lot of education and information should come from the home." For more health and medical news, visit http://www.reutershealth.com.