Carrying weapons at school: Prevalence and associated factors in Colombian high-school students

The purpose of this study is to identify the prevalence and factors associated with weapon carrying in Colombian high-school students. A cross-sectional study was designed to analyze this phenomenon among students aged between 13 and 17 years. A sample of 1462 students participated, 18.46% of which reported having planned suicide, 56.16% reported having started fighting, 22.57% alcohol drinking, 11.63% cannabis smoking, and 20.45% carrying weapons at school. The phenomenon was later associated with the male gender (odds ratio [OR] = 3.49, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.59-4.70), alcohol drinking (OR = 2.67, 95% CI: 1.70-4.20), cannabis smoking (OR = 2.39, 95% CI: 1.55-3.70), use of other substances (OR = 2.52, 95% CI: 1.44-4.44), cigarette smoking (OR = 1.83, 95% CI: 1.16-2.88), starting fighting (OR = 2.30, 95% CI: 1.68-3.16), and suicide planning (OR = 2.05, 95% CI: 1.46-2.90). More proximate situational and contextual factors associated with love behavior in adolescents need to be studied.