Identifying protective factors that potentially buffer the association between peer victimization and weapon-carrying behavior among US adolescents

The aim of the present study was to explore whether protective factors, such as ease of communication with parents, siblings, and best friends; parental awareness of student’s friends and activities; higher numbers of best friends; positive perceptions of school climate; and teachers’ opinion of student’s academic performance, would buffer the link between peer victimization and weapon-carrying behavior among US adolescents. Data were derived from the 2009–2010 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) study in the US. A total of 12,642 US adolescents were included in the study sample. Analyses included descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, and ordinary least squares regression. Partially supporting our hypothesis, we found that only mother’s awareness of students’ friends and activities ameliorated the effect of peer victimization on weapon-carrying behavior. In other words, bullied adolescents whose mothers were aware of their friends and activities were less likely to carry weapons. Mothers’ awareness of their child’s friends, behaviors, and activities is an important form of parental monitoring, and their involvement may protect their children from weapon-carrying behavior after experiencing victimization.