Special Section Introduction: Revitalizing Developmental Research on Adolescent Gun Involvement

Although firearm violence is universally recognized as a paramount public health problem in the United States, for nearly two decades a Congressional budget amendment prevented federal agencies from funding research aimed at understanding the antecedents and consequences of gun violence. These restrictions have been lifted in recent years; however, the field is struggling to overcome a considerable lapse in developmentally-informed longitudinal research on adolescent gun involvement. Some key areas in need of further investigation include: (a) examining developmental and gender differences in risk factors for adolescent gun carrying, (b) clarifying the mechanisms through which socio–economic disadvantage confers risk for engaging in adolescent gun violence, (c) identifying proximal risk and protective factors that are associated with engagement in adolescent gun violence among high risk youth, and (d) delineating the unique effect the exposure to gun violence has on adolescents’ emotional and behavioral problems. This special section was organized in an attempt to revitalize research on these issues using a diverse array of longitudinal data sets consisting of both epidemiological and juvenile justice samples. Collectively, the findings from these studies are based upon repeated assessments conducted from childhood through early adulthood, making this set of papers uniquely positioned to advance our understanding of adolescent gun involvement from a developmental perspective.