Resource Tag: FIREARMS OWNERS

Introduction Lethal means safety counseling (LMSC) to promote secure firearm storage may reduce the risk of firearm-involved deaths, including suicide. We examined if emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians, including emergency medical technicians and paramedics, may be suitable LMSC messengers. Method We conducted a web-based survey of 229 US EMS clinicians. Results While few EMS clinicians […]

Introduction Suicide remains a leading cause of death in the U.S., and firearms are one of the most lethal methods of suicide. This study examines personal and contextual factors that predict suicide with a firearm compared to other methods across stages of adulthood. Methods Data on adult suicide decedents from 2009 to 2019 were obtained […]

Background Although secure firearm storage can prevent firearm injury and death, secure storage is relatively rare. This tendency may be driven in part by a perceived lack of utility for secure storage in preventing suicide and other gun violence-related outcomes. Method We recruited a large (n = 3510) representative sample of residents from five US states and […]

Purpose/Background Firearm injury, particularly self-directed, is a major source of preventable morbidity and mortality among older adults. Older adults are at elevated risk of serious illness, cognitive impairment, and depression—all known risk factors for suicide and/or unintentional injury. Healthcare providers are often the first to identify these conditions and, although they commonly deliver safety guidance […]

We provide the first quasi-experimental estimates of variation in suicide impulsivity by age by examining the impact of firearm purchase delay laws by age. Prior studies of firearm purchase delay laws use traditional two-way-fixed-effects estimation, but we demonstrate that bias due to heterogenous treatment effects may have inflated previous estimates relative to our stacked-regression approach. […]

In what is now referred to by many as the United States, gun violence rages on. When one considers the country’s sheer number of annual gun deaths, the data is as overwhelming as it is distressing. Indeed, perhaps the only  thing outpacing the trauma and loss of life wrought by gun violence is the anguish […]

Objectives. To assess the association between the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act (NY SAFE Act) and firearm suicide and homicide rates. Methods. We employed a synthetic controls approach to investigate the impact of the NY SAFE Act on firearm suicide and firearm homicide rates. We collected state-level data on firearm mortality from the Centers for […]

Background: Suicide by firearms is a serious public health issue in the United States. However, little research has been conducted on the relationship between cultural backgrounds and suicide by firearms, specifically in those born and raised in the United States compared to those who have immigrated to the United States. Objective: To better understand the […]

Background: While some suicide prevention initiatives distribute locking devices for firearms and medication, little evidence exists to guide the selection of devices. Aims: This study aimed to describe safety standards for locking devices and compare parental acceptance rates for different types of devices. Method: As part of the larger SAFETY Study, behavioral health clinicians provided free locking devices to parents […]

OBJECTIVES: To examine how youth and their caregivers’ mental health risk factors for suicide are associated with youth firearm access inside and outside the home. METHODS: This study examines a cross-section of the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Social Development study data collected from 2016 to 2021. The sample included 2277 children aged 10 to […]

Abstract Previous research has linked unsafe firearm storage practices and other ownership-related characteristics to key factors that facilitate the transition from suicidal thoughts to suicidal behaviors (i.e., acquired capability for suicide). This research has not investigated the extent to which firearm owners store firearms in their vehicles, a factor that increases ready access to the […]

Objective  To evaluate the association between the amount of alcohol consumed and the probability of using a firearm as the method of suicide. Design, Setting, and Participants  This cross-sectional study used mortality data from the US National Violent Death Reporting System on suicide decedents aged 18 years or older with a positive blood alcohol concentration (BAC; ie, […]

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association between the amount of alcohol consumed and the probability of using a firearm as the method of suicide. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This cross-sectional study used mortality data from the US National Violent Death Reporting System on suicide decedents aged 18 years or older with a positive blood alcohol concentration  […]

Objectives Causes of suicide are complex indicating a nation’s psycho-socio-economic well-being hence this population-based study explores whether USA suicides worsened compared to nineteen Other Western Countries (OWC) being possibly related to gun ownership in the 21st Century. Methods Total suicide data are drawn from the latest WHO Age-Standardised-Death-Rates per million (pm) controlled for age, sex, and population, […]

Suicide is the 10th most frequent cause of death in the US  with  47,511  deaths in 2019, of which  23,941  were firearm suicides. Certain subgroups within the general population are at increased risk for firearm suicide, including law enforcement, active-duty military, veterans, persons with post-traumatic stress disorder, sexual minorities, and young people who have adverse childhood experiences such as […]

Background Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, with over half of cases involving firearms. Despite research indicating negative effects of exposure to suicide, there is little research on who typically finds the body of the suicide decedent. Understanding who finds the body of the suicide decedent may be important […]

There is a great deal of empirical evidence that owning a firearm increases the risk of dying from suicide. Most suicides are impulsive. Nearly 50% of survivors of suicide attempts report that they took less than 10 minutes between the decision to die and their suicide attempt. The great majority of these suicide survivors never […]

Background: Epidemiological evidence links Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to increased risk of suicide. The research aimed to describe awareness among primary care pediatricians (PCPs) of ADHD as a  risk factor for suicide and PCPs’ practices of suicide risk assessment (SRA) and firearms safety assessment (FSA) in teens with ADHD. Method: An online survey was […]

Background: Firearm suicide is a significant public health problem in the United States of America among the general and veteran populations. Broad-based preventive strategies, including lethal means safety, have been emphasized as a key approach to suicide prevention. Prior research has identified ways to improve the reach and uptake of lethal means safety messages. However, few […]

Objective We investigated whether high school students reporting easy access to guns were more likely to die prematurely from either suicide, homicide, or an accidental death. Method Based upon the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we contrasted those reporting easy access to guns, n = 5,185, 25%, with the remaining 75% (n = 15,589) on various sociodemographic […]

Objective Firearm means safety strategies, such as safe storage, are effective in reducing suicide rates but are not widely implemented in the United States. This study examined the association between reason for firearm ownership, beliefs about firearm ownership and storage and suicide risk, willingness to engage in means safety, and current firearm storage practices. Method […]

Objective This study examined emergency department (ED) and behavioral health (BH) provider attitudes and behaviors related to lethal means screening and counseling of patients with suicide risk, specifically examining differences by provider type and whether providers had firearms in their own home. Methods Emergency department providers (physicians and mid-level practitioners) and behavioral health (BH) providers […]

Objectives To describe the characteristics of military personnel and veterans who decline to answer survey items asking about firearm availability at home, and to determine how these characteristics compare to those of military personnel and veterans who answered these items. Methods Self-report surveys were administered to 2025 military personnel and veterans visiting a primary care […]