"Gotta Make Your Own Heaven": Guns, Safety, and the Edge of Adulthood in New York City, 2018-2019 (ICPSR 37858)

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A distinctive aspect of gun involvement among youth is that young people acquire guns almost exclusively through the informal economy (Webster, Meyers & Buggs 2014). This suggests that the possession, carrying, and sharing of guns among youth is largely unregulated and untraceable, and likely eludes traditional policy interventions. Indeed, recent research has shown that federal and state age restriction laws on gun purchases by 18- to 20- year-olds have had no impact on violent crime rates (Kleck 2019). Comprehensive efforts to prevent young people from acquiring guns should start earlier, addressing the reasons why they are getting guns, not just the logistics of how they are doing so.

What are the reasons that urban youth acquire or use guns? Webster and colleagues' 2014 systematic literature review reveals two enduring gaps in the research addressing this question: 1) a lack of generalizable studies of high-risk youth, and 2) little or no qualitative research designed to understand the complex situational factors related to gun use (Webster, Meyers & Buggs 2014). Prior research on gun involvement among youth has frequently suffered from sampling biases, introduced either by specifically surveying adolescent populations in schools (e.g., Sheley & Wright 1998; the CDC's Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System)--which tends toward the systematic underrepresentation of high-risk youth who are often disconnected from school--or by focusing on youth in confinement for violent offenses (e.g., Birkbeck et al. 1999; Sheley & Wright 1995)--which may overestimate the proportion of gun-related behaviors that are motivated by criminal intent or aggression. Finally, the closed-ended surveys that currently dominate research on guns cannot fully capture the complex decision-making processes that underlie gun use. Indeed, little to no qualitative research in this area has been conducted in over twenty years (Wilkinson & Fagan 1996; Fagan & Wilkinson 1998), suggesting the need for new research that is capable of reaching--and creating a safe space to elicit reflections on gun carrying from--deeply distrustful and "street"-involved young people who carry guns.

Taken together, then, the existing research and gaps in that research clearly indicate a need for generalizable, mixed-method studies capable of recruiting and exploring the lives of urban youth who use guns within complex and often misunderstood social and cultural contexts (Payne 2011). The Center for Court Innovation, with a history of community-based, ethnographic research with hard-to-reach populations, is uniquely poised to address this need.

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Given the sensitive nature of these questions (regarding guns, gangs, and violence), gaining trust and candid responses from these heavily street-involved youth unsurprisingly was a challenge. Accordingly, it was vital to employ field researchers-- the people conducting the interviews and the public face of the project--with significant personal experience in the social networks of the target population. Some of the team members reflected the demographic composition of the neighborhoods and had connections to the street in such a way that research participants could, as these field researchers explain, "feel your gangsta." Prior to this deliberate staffing decision, accessing the study population was a struggle. Beyond merely ensuring access, this approach also led to more honest engagement from the interviewees. It further yielded more accurate analysis and interpretation of interview data, with field researchers not only conducting many of the interviews, but also helping to code and analyze the data, draw study conclusions, and develop recommendations.

The importance of building trust with 16- to 24-year-olds at risk for gun violence cannot be overstated. Many of these youth had to be found via gang networks, and control of physical space is a well-documented aspect of many gangs (e.g., Adamson 1998; Suttles 1972; Thrasher 1927). The processes for gaining trust in each neighborhood differed significantly. This geographic specificity further played out on the micro levels within specific housing developments and indoor gang spaces. New approaches had to be identified in each location. Researchers collected data in the areas gangs or housing developments "controlled," since that was where the participants felt the most comfortable. To undertake this networking, and to recruit the participants who were most able to speak from current, first-hand experience about the realities of gun acquisition and use, methods drawn from street ethnography were engaged--primarily observation of spaces and participants, as well as ongoing embedding in neighborhoods beyond data collection activities.

Interviews were confidential (no names, addresses, or other identifying information were collected), and participants were given $30 cash for their time. In addition, all participants were given three numbered coupons, asked to give the coupons to other eligible youth in their social network, and paid $10 cash for each coupon that was redeemed for a subsequent interview. Ninety-four percent of the 330 interviews were from coupon referrals, and 6% were seeds--meaning that RDS was successful in achieving sufficient recruitment waves to generate a representative sample of 16- to 24-year-old urban youth at risk for gun violence.

Ranging from 45 to 90 minutes, interviews were semi-structured with closed- and open-ended questions. Interviews were digitally recorded upon consent of participants. Those with more than 15 minutes of rich data were transcribed verbatim.

Sample View help for Sample

The data were collected from 330 eligible participants through respondent-driven sampling (RDS). RDS is a method for sampling hard-to-reach populations, whose underlying behavior or participation in research might be stigmatized and for which a sampling frame does not exist. Research has shown that after only a few recruitment waves, RDS reaches a representative sample that eliminates any bias that results from initial participant selection.

Youth were recruited through respondent-driven sampling, with initial interviews accessed through outreach at Cure Violence programs (gun violence prevention programs with credible messengers on staff), observation at outdoor public housing project "hot spots," and ethnography at indoor gang spaces. These initial interview participants then helped recruit other eligible youth from their social networks.

Universe View help for Universe

16-24 year olds who live in one of three NYC neighborhoods (Morrisania, Brownsville, East Harlem) and are at high-risk for gun violence (e.g., carries a gun, has been shot or shot at, carries a different weapon)

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2021-05-26

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