| Lethal and non-lethal violence is often concentrated in certain
neighborhoods of cities. This paper addresses ecological and individual
factors that contribute to such concentration, and tests Blumstein's thesis
that the rise in gun-related violence is associated with the combination of
gun availability and drug dealing. Data are used from two sources:
longitudinal data from 1,517 males in the Pittsburgh Youth Study, and
city-wide police data on gun-related violence and delinquent offending among
12-25 year-olds. An earlier study on homicide offenders in the sample (N =
29) concentrated on predictors of violence, and predictors of homicide among
violent offenders (Loeber et al., 2001). The majority (83%) of the homicide
offenders were black males. This paper put these findings and other
findings from the Pittsburgh Youth Study on gun-related nonlethal violence
in an ecological context. The paper shows the degree to which gun carrying,
gang activity, and drug dealing covary, first, with gun-related violence
among young males in the community and, second, with gun-related violence by
males in the Pittsburgh Youth Study. The paper demonstrates which
individual characteristics and which ecological factors (measured for the
individual and for the neighborhood in which the individual lives) best
predict gun-related violence.
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Updated 05/20/2006