An alarming number of children in the U.S. are exposed to violence involving a weapon, either as a witness or a victim, before their eighteenth birthday, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics.
Researchers analyzed data from the Second National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence, a nationally representative telephone survey of youth ages 2 to 17 years and caregivers, conducted in 2011.
All total, lead study author Kimberly Mitchell, PhD, a scientist at the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, and her colleagues examined survey responses from more than 4,000 children and caregivers.
Highlighted below are five findings from the study.
1. More than 1 in 4 youth (26.5 percent) reported witnessing or being victim to at least one victimization involving a weapon* in their lifetime. That translates to more than 17.5 million children.
2. More than 2 million youth (one in 33) have been directly assaulted in incidents where the high lethality risk weapons of guns and knives were used.
3. Poly-victims, or youth that experienced seven or more victimization types, were particularly likely to experience victimization with any weapon, as well as victimization with a highly lethal weapon compared with nonpoly-victims.
4. Weapons-based violence is one of the largest public health crises affecting children in the United States, far exceeding the numbers of children with illnesses such as diabetes or cancer.
5. Each year, youth homicides and assault-related injuries result in an estimated $16 million in combined medical and work loss costs.
"Further work on improving gun safety practices and taking steps to reduce children's exposure to weapon-involved violence is warranted to reduce this prevalent problem," researchers concluded.
*Weapon types included gun, knife, stick, rock, bottle, tool or other item that could cause injury such as a piece of broken glass, piece of metal or brass knuckles.
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