| Using data from an ongoing panel study of urban youth, this paper provides
an examination of female weapon carrying, use and delinquency. Although
females are considerably less delinquent than males, we still seek to gain a
comprehensible and accurate representation of this phenomenon, including the
scenarios in which weapons play a role. The analysis is based on the sample
of adolescent females in the Rochester Youth Development Study and explores
the types of weapons carried and used in relation to delinquency and
associated behaviors. In particular, the girls are used as their own
controls to address questions regarding their delinquent behavior when a
weapon is carried and/or used versus when it is not. This is assessed by
evaluating the impact and consequences of weapon carrying and use on various
forms of delinquency over multiple waves of data covering early adolescence
to young adulthood. Future research and policy implications will also be
discussed.
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Updated 05/20/2006