Nearly 25% of youths injured in assaults own a firearm

Michelle Healy | USA TODAY

Gun violence is a leading cause of death among young people in the USA, and with it comes notably high rates of gun possession, a survey finds.

Among young people ages 14 to 24 who received care in a hospital emergency department for assault-related injuries, 23% said they owned a firearm in the past six months. And only 17% of those reporting firearm possession obtained it legally, says the report, in the August issue of the journal Pediatrics, published online today.

In 2012, 34% of American households possessed firearms, according to a report released in March by the General Social Survey, part of the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.

In the new survey, researchers from the University of Michigan Injury Center surveyed 689 young people who sought care at a major trauma center in Flint, Mich. Roughly 14% were younger than age 18, and 32% had children of their own. Those with firearms were more likely to use illegal drugs, have been involved in a serious fight, and to endorse the position that "revenge was a good thing," and that it was "OK to hurt people if they hurt you first."

Among other findings from the report:

-- 22% reported ownership of highly lethal automatic/semiautomatic weapons.

-- 37% said they had a gun primarily for protection; 10% said they were "holding it for someone"; 9% said they have a gun because their "friends carry guns."

-- 52% reported that it would be little or no trouble to obtain a firearm.