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National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research (NCGVR) Award (Sponsored by Rand Corporation)
Grant Holding Institution: Center for Court Innovation, New York, NY
Principal Investigator: Elise White, Ph.D.
Co-PI: Yasser A. Payne, Ph.D.
Award Amount: 1.67 million
“Got The Hammer On Me": The Socio-Cultural Roots Of Gun Use In U.S.
Cities”
Project Summary
The Center for Court Innovation (CCI) and Dr. Yasser Payne will conduct a multi-method, deep-dive examination of the social and cultural roots of urban youth gun violence in the United States. To increase generalizability, the three-year study will be conducted in diverse (in terms of racial/ethnic make-up, history, and geographic location) neighborhoods characterized by high rates of gun violence in five cities: Baltimore, Detroit, Las Vegas, New Orleans, and New York. CCI and Dr. Payne will draw on their depth of experience on the topic of gun violence intervention and prevention and street participatory action research (Street PAR) to conduct an exploratory study, using respondent-driven sampling (RDS) to access and interview 750 young people, ages 16-24, who are gun carriers or are at high risk for gun violence across the five sites. Our primary research questions are: 1) What motivates young people's acquisition and use of guns?; 2) What are the social and structural factors that create or impact gun culture?; and 3) What are the individual and community characteristics that could build resilience and facilitate desistance from gun use? By using Street PAR and RDS, this study will overcome sampling challenges found in prior research to produce a representative sample of young gun carriers. By combining quantitative and qualitative methods, we hope to uncover new insight and knowledge that could inform future gun violence policies and programs nationwide.
