Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jun;52(3):537-548.
doi: 10.1111/sltb.12844. Epub 2022 Mar 8.

Determining subgroups that exist among US firearm owners

Allison E Bond  1   2 , Shelby L Bandel  1   2 , Michael D Anestis  1   2
Affiliations

Determining subgroups that exist among US firearm owners

Allison E Bond et al. Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2022 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: To identify and verify classes of firearm owners that exist within the United States and determine the sources that classes deemed credible to discuss firearm safety for suicide prevention.

Methods: The study is composed of two parts. Part 1 (N = 1018) utilizes a nationally representative sample of firearm owners. Part 2 (N = 1064) consists of firearm owners from Mississippi, Minnesota, and New Jersey.

Results: Four unique classes were identified in Sample 1: multiple firearms class, single handgun class, few firearms class, and long-gun class. A three-class solution was found for sample 2. Two of the classes from sample 1 replicated: multiple firearms class and single handgun class. Although many of the classes differed in the ranking of credible sources, a combination of The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, law enforcement officers, and family members was ranked as credible sources among all classes.

Conclusions: Findings provide evidence of the heterogenous nature of firearm owners and can be utilized to better understand the subgroups of firearm owners. Additionally, the findings from the credible sources analyses can be leveraged to create more effective safe firearm storage messaging which may increase adherence with safe storage suggestions and ultimately reduce suicide rates.

Keywords: credible messengers; firearms; suicide.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Anestis, M. D., Bond, A. E., Bryan, A. O., & Bryan, C. J. (2021). An examination of preferred messengers on firearm safety for suicide prevention. Preventive Medicine, 145, 106452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106452
    1. Anglemyer, A., Horvath, T., & Rutherford, G. (2014). The accessibility of firearms and risk for suicide and homicide victimization among household members: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Annals of Internal Medicine, 160(2), 101-110. https://doi.org/10.7326/M13-1301
    1. Betz, M. E., Barber, C., & Miller, M. (2011). Suicidal behavior and firearm access: Results from the second injury control and risk survey. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 41(4), 384-391. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1943-278X.2011.00036.x
    1. Bond, A. E., & Anestis, M. D. (2021). Firearm type and number: Examining differences among firearm owning suicide decedents. Archives of Suicide Research, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2021.1885536
    1. Brent, D. A. (2001). Firearms and suicide. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 932(1), 225-240. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2001.tb05808.x

LinkOut - more resources