Weapon Carrying, Physical Fighting and Gang Membership Among Youth in Washington State Military Families

Washington State 8th, 10th, and 12th graders were surveyed to examine the association between parental military status (civilian, military non-deployed, and military deployed within the previous six years) and school based physical violence, weapon carrying, and gang membership. There were significant associations between parents’ military service and school-based weapon carrying, physical violence, and gang membership in both girls and boys and among younger and older youth.