FEBRUARY 13, 2020 — Could the amount of sleep teenagers get each night determine if they would carry a gun? A new study by researchers from UTSA and Florida International University has found that not getting enough sleep increases the likelihood of teens carrying a handgun.
Using a survey of more than 42,000 middle school and high school students in Florida, Dylan Jackson and Alexander Testa, assistant professors in UTSA’s College for Health, Community and Policy, collaborated with Florida International University researchers Ryan Charles Meldrum and Kristen Zgoba to study whether sleep duration is associated with adolescent handgun carrying behaviors.
“Research shows that a large portion of adolescents do not get enough sleep and this lack of sleep presents serious consequences for their health, psychological well-being and willingness to engage in risky behaviors,” said Jackson.
In addition, sleep deprivation has been linked to a variety of risk-taking behaviors, such as drinking and driving and involvement in delinquency. The researchers found out that getting less than four hours of sleep a night leads to a 40% increase in the likelihood of teens carrying a handgun in general and an 85% increase in the odds of taking a handgun to school.
⇒ Explore UTSA's new College for Health, Community and Policy.
“The findings of our study suggest that a lack of sleep may impair decision making and increase the propensity of youths to engage in the risky behavior of carrying a handgun,” said Testa. “Given that gun violence, especially among youth, is a significant public health issue, the results of our findings suggest that efforts to improve the sleep of adolescents can provide substantial benefits for safety and overall well-being.”
The findings were published in Sleep Health: Journal of the National Sleep Foundation.
Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn.
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
This community event is hosted by the UTSA Mexican American Studies Program. It is a lecture/performance that examines the contributions of Tejana musicians to the evolution of Mexican American music.
Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, 922 San Pedro Ave.This workshop will introduce participants to the basics of text analysis using Python and Jupyter Notebook on the Constellate Lab platform. We will create datasets in Constellate to analyze patterns, trends, and relationships of contents and more.
John Peace Library (JPL 3.02.32), Main CampusWhat would award-winning writing professor Diane Abdo say if it were her last lecture? Join us for our annual Last Lecture series on Wednesday April 17.
Multipurpose Room (BSE 2.102), Main CampusDía en la Sombrilla, formerly Fiesta UTSA, is a festival hosted each spring as a part of Fiesta® San Antonio events. Sponsored by Roadrunner Productions, the event features music, food, confetti, games, event t-shirts, and more.
Sombrilla Plaza and Central Plaza, Main CampusFiesta Arts Fair features contemporary art from more than 100 artists from across the U.S., Fiesta favorite foods, drinks, live music by local and regional performers, and a Young Artists Garden providing opportunities for budding artists to learn, explore and express their creativity.
UTSA Southwest CampusLearn to use Zotero®, a citation manager that can help you store and organize citations you find during your research. Zotero can generate bibliographies in various styles, insert in-text citations and allow you to share sources with collaborators.
Virtual EventCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
AlamodomeThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
