http://www.newsday.com/ap/text/national/ap746.htmAP
The heading and the wording of this story is very misleading. It might be subtle, but I believe that it is anti-gun. It seems to me that NRA efforts to educate young people with regards to guns may have increased the number of kids that have "used" guns. Good Job!
"National Study Finds Increase in Weapons Use
by DAVID HO
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- One in four youths has used a gun or knife or has been in a situation where someone was injured by a weapon in the past year, according to a large national study of adolescents.
The survey funded by 18 federal agencies and analyzed by researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School also found that teen-agers who are failing school and ''hanging out'' unsupervised with friends are at the highest risk of a number of dangerous behaviors.
But it also said that behavior such as smoking, drinking, pre-marital sex and acts of violence cannot necessarily be correlated to youngsters' racial and economic backgrounds.
Researchers surveyed 10,000 students ages 12 to 17 for an ongoing National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health that started in 1974.
''While we see racial and ethnic differences across all the behaviors we studied, they tell us little about what causes these differences,'' Dr. Robert Blum, principal investigator of the study said in a statement Thursday. ''They can also lead us to falsely believe that these problems are unique to minority groups, and to ignore the fact that large numbers of white teens are involved in risky behaviors.''
One in 10 teens surveyed said they drink weekly, and one in 12 seventh- and eighth-graders say they drink two to three times a month, according to the study. Consumption was the same for girls and boys.
The proportion of students who said they had had intercourse ranged from fewer than one of five seventh and eighth graders to almost two of three juniors and seniors.
''How young people do at school and what they do with their free time are the most important determinants for every risky behavior we studies -- regardless of whetherf they are rich or poor, white or black or Hispanic, or come from one- or two-parent families,'' Blum said."
[Edited by Gary H on 11-30-2000 at 03:30 PM]
The heading and the wording of this story is very misleading. It might be subtle, but I believe that it is anti-gun. It seems to me that NRA efforts to educate young people with regards to guns may have increased the number of kids that have "used" guns. Good Job!
"National Study Finds Increase in Weapons Use
by DAVID HO
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- One in four youths has used a gun or knife or has been in a situation where someone was injured by a weapon in the past year, according to a large national study of adolescents.
The survey funded by 18 federal agencies and analyzed by researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School also found that teen-agers who are failing school and ''hanging out'' unsupervised with friends are at the highest risk of a number of dangerous behaviors.
But it also said that behavior such as smoking, drinking, pre-marital sex and acts of violence cannot necessarily be correlated to youngsters' racial and economic backgrounds.
Researchers surveyed 10,000 students ages 12 to 17 for an ongoing National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health that started in 1974.
''While we see racial and ethnic differences across all the behaviors we studied, they tell us little about what causes these differences,'' Dr. Robert Blum, principal investigator of the study said in a statement Thursday. ''They can also lead us to falsely believe that these problems are unique to minority groups, and to ignore the fact that large numbers of white teens are involved in risky behaviors.''
One in 10 teens surveyed said they drink weekly, and one in 12 seventh- and eighth-graders say they drink two to three times a month, according to the study. Consumption was the same for girls and boys.
The proportion of students who said they had had intercourse ranged from fewer than one of five seventh and eighth graders to almost two of three juniors and seniors.
''How young people do at school and what they do with their free time are the most important determinants for every risky behavior we studies -- regardless of whetherf they are rich or poor, white or black or Hispanic, or come from one- or two-parent families,'' Blum said."
[Edited by Gary H on 11-30-2000 at 03:30 PM]