From depression to youth school gun carrying in America: Social connectedness may help break the link

Figures & data

Table 1. Background characteristics and risk estimates for gun carrying at school

Variable	1. Background characteristics			2. Risk estimates
				Crude odds ratio		Adjusted odds ratio^a
	Total sample (n = 1,878)	(1) Gun-carrying youth (n = 29)	(2) Other youth (n = 1,849)	Gun vs. no gun	(95% CI)	Gun vs. no gun	(95% CI)
Outcome variable
Gun carrying at school (%)	1.54
Independent variable
Depression scores above 2 standard deviations^b (%)	12.1	17.2	6.1	3.2*	(1.19–8.54)	3.1*	(1.13–8.26)
Demographic variables
Age (years)	16.3	16.4	16.3	1.08	(.81–1.44)	1.07	(.80–1.43)
Sex
Female (%; reference)	52.4	31	54
Male (%)	47.6	69	46	2.61*	(1.18–5.77)	2.64*	(1.19–5.86)
Race/ethnicity
White (%; reference)	10.1	10.3	10.7
Black (%)	47.3	58.6	45.9	1.31	(.38–4.53)	1.44	(.41–4.99)
Other (%)	42.6	31.3	43.4	.74	(.20–2.75)	.79	(.21–2.95)
Potential mediator
Social connectedness (1–4 points)	2.38	1.88	2.41	.71*	(.52–.97)^c	.71*	(.52–.97)^c

^a Controlling for demographic variables, including age, sex, and race/ethnicity.

^b The scale of depression in which scores 2 standard deviations above the mean would considered to be clinically significant.

^c Rounded values were reported in this table; the 95% confidence interval was .517–.969 for crude odds ratio and .516–.971 for adjusted odds ratio.

^* p < .05.

Figure 1. Estimated mediation model.

Notes: Standardized path coefficients controlling for age, sex, and race/ethnicity were reported in this graph; the goodness-of-fit statistics indicated a good fit for three models (RMSEA < .001, CFI = 1, TLI = 1); *p < .05 **p < .01.