Briefly, most measures were dichotomized as follows: academic performance (having A’s and B’s during the past 12 months); binge drinking (five or more drinks at any time in past year); any illicit drug use (any use of inhalants/illegal drugs); weapon carrying (gun, knife or club, past month); and any child maltreatment (exposure to domestic violence, physical, or sexual victimization prior to age 10). A few continuous measures were included such as social support, a 9-item measure (α = 0.76), based on the Vaux Social Support Scale [40,44,45] assessing peer, family and school contexts. Depression, a 6-item modified measure (α = 0.85), assessed how many times participants had been sad, grouchy or irritable or moody, hopeless, not eating, changes in sleep and difficulty concentrating in the past month [46]. Impulsivity, a 4-item measure (α = 0.79), asked if participants had a hard time sitting, finishing things, did things without thinking, and needed to use a lot of self-control to keep out of trouble [47]. Self-efficacy to avoid violence [48], a 7-item scale (α = 0.88), assessed participants’ confidence for staying out
