Social-Ecological Predictors of Violent Firearm Use Among Youth

Firearm-related violent injuries are a leading cause of death among U.S. youth, yet little is known about what predicts youths’ violent use of firearms. This study examined how hypothesized predictors across social-ecological domains, identified through participatory research, explained violent firearm use. Data were collected from four public high schools in one Southeastern U.S. county. A total of 1126 students (Mage = 16.17; 54.8% male; 50.9% Black, 33.6% White) completed the survey. Overall, 11.2% of participants reported having used a firearm against someone, and the model explained over 40% of the variance in violent firearm use, with 30 of the hypothesized 37 predictors significantly associated with violent firearm use. Notable factors included school-level poverty, firearm-related victimization, and violence in one’s social network (e.g., friend or family member injured or killed due to violence; friend committed a violent crime) and context (e.g., school safety problems; exposure to community violence). These findings underscore the importance of intervening in social networks and at the systems level in order to reduce the risk of youths engaging in violent firearm use.