Objectives: Because of high rates of violent gun-related injuries seen in emergency department (EDs), the ED has become involved in prevention violence intervention. The purpose of the study was to determine the relation between access to guns and the risk of violence-related injuries in youth and young adults.
Methods: This study was a convenience sample in an inner-city level I trauma center. A 28-item validated questionnaire consisting of a short questionnaire about guns, the New York City Youth Violence Survey, and the SAGE Baseline Survey was given to 201 subjects. Half of the subjects were victims of violence and half were seen for nonviolence-related problems.
Results: Subjects with violence-related injuries did not have a higher rate of accessibility to guns. They did, however, show a difference in their attitudes toward guns. The subjects who came into the ED with violence-related injuries believed that having a weapon was a way to avoid a fight (F = 4.68, P = 0.032). They were more likely to have grabbed or shoved someone in the last 6 months (F = 5.18, P = 0.025), punched someone in the last 6 months (F = 11.9, P = 0.011), and have been seen in the ED within the last 6 months for a injury related to being punched, attacked, or shot (F = 117, P = 0.00), as compared to those with nonviolence-related injuries.
Conclusions: There was no difference between the two subject groups in terms of their being victims of violence and the rate of gun accessibility. There was, however, a difference in their attitudes toward guns.