Associations between deployment experiences, safety-related beliefs, and firearm ownership among women Veterans

doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.11.004

. 2023 Jan:157:72-81.

doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.11.004. Epub 2022 Nov 14.

Associations between deployment experiences, safety-related beliefs, and firearm ownership among women Veterans

Lindsey L Monteith¹, Adam R Kinney², Ryan Holliday³, Christin Miller⁴, Alexandra L Schneider⁵, Claire A Hoffmire⁶, Joseph A Simonetti⁷, Lisa A Brenner⁸, Jeri E Forster⁹

Affiliations

¹ VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention, 1700 North Wheeling St., Aurora, CO, 80045, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 East 17th Place, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 12631 East 17th Avenue, Rm 1201G, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. Electronic address: lindsey.monteith@va.gov.
² VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention, 1700 North Wheeling St., Aurora, CO, 80045, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 12631 East 17th Avenue, Rm 1201G, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. Electronic address: adam.kinney@va.gov.
³ VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention, 1700 North Wheeling St., Aurora, CO, 80045, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 East 17th Place, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. Electronic address: ryan.holliday@va.gov.
⁴ VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention, 1700 North Wheeling St., Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. Electronic address: christin.miller@va.gov.
⁵ VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention, 1700 North Wheeling St., Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. Electronic address: alexandra.schneider@va.gov.
⁶ VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention, 1700 North Wheeling St., Aurora, CO, 80045, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 12631 East 17th Avenue, Rm 1201G, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. Electronic address: claire.hoffmire@va.gov.
⁷ VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention, 1700 North Wheeling St., Aurora, CO, 80045, USA; Division of Hospital Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 12401 East 17th Avenue, 4th Floor, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. Electronic address: joseph.simonetti@va.gov.
⁸ VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention, 1700 North Wheeling St., Aurora, CO, 80045, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 East 17th Place, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 12631 East 17th Avenue, Rm 1201G, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. Electronic address: lisa.brenner@va.gov.
⁹ VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention, 1700 North Wheeling St., Aurora, CO, 80045, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 12631 East 17th Avenue, Rm 1201G, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA; Department of Biostatistics and Informatics, Colorado School of Public Health, 13001 East 17th Place, 3rd Floor, Mail Stop B119, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. Electronic address: jeri.forster@cuanschutz.edu.

PMID: 36442409
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.11.004

Associations between deployment experiences, safety-related beliefs, and firearm ownership among women Veterans

Lindsey L Monteith et al. J Psychiatr Res. 2023 Jan.

. 2023 Jan:157:72-81.

doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.11.004. Epub 2022 Nov 14.

Authors

Lindsey L Monteith¹, Adam R Kinney², Ryan Holliday³, Christin Miller⁴, Alexandra L Schneider⁵, Claire A Hoffmire⁶, Joseph A Simonetti⁷, Lisa A Brenner⁸, Jeri E Forster⁹

Affiliations

¹ VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention, 1700 North Wheeling St., Aurora, CO, 80045, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 East 17th Place, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 12631 East 17th Avenue, Rm 1201G, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. Electronic address: lindsey.monteith@va.gov.
² VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention, 1700 North Wheeling St., Aurora, CO, 80045, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 12631 East 17th Avenue, Rm 1201G, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. Electronic address: adam.kinney@va.gov.
³ VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention, 1700 North Wheeling St., Aurora, CO, 80045, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 East 17th Place, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. Electronic address: ryan.holliday@va.gov.
⁴ VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention, 1700 North Wheeling St., Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. Electronic address: christin.miller@va.gov.
⁵ VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention, 1700 North Wheeling St., Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. Electronic address: alexandra.schneider@va.gov.
⁶ VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention, 1700 North Wheeling St., Aurora, CO, 80045, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 12631 East 17th Avenue, Rm 1201G, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. Electronic address: claire.hoffmire@va.gov.
⁷ VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention, 1700 North Wheeling St., Aurora, CO, 80045, USA; Division of Hospital Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 12401 East 17th Avenue, 4th Floor, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. Electronic address: joseph.simonetti@va.gov.
⁸ VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention, 1700 North Wheeling St., Aurora, CO, 80045, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 13001 East 17th Place, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 12631 East 17th Avenue, Rm 1201G, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. Electronic address: lisa.brenner@va.gov.
⁹ VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention, 1700 North Wheeling St., Aurora, CO, 80045, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 12631 East 17th Avenue, Rm 1201G, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA; Department of Biostatistics and Informatics, Colorado School of Public Health, 13001 East 17th Place, 3rd Floor, Mail Stop B119, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA. Electronic address: jeri.forster@cuanschutz.edu.

PMID: 36442409
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.11.004

Abstract

Introduction: Among women Veterans, firearms are the leading suicide means. This has prompted efforts to elucidate factors associated with women Veterans' firearm ownership. This cross-sectional study examined if deployment experiences were associated with firearm ownership among women Veterans and if safety-related beliefs mediated these associations.

Methods: 492 previously deployed post-9/11 women Veterans participated in a national survey that included the Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory-2, subscales of the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory and Posttraumatic Maladaptive Beliefs Scale, and firearm ownership questions. Path analysis was used.

Results: Perceived threat during deployment was associated with firearm ownership, irrespective of safety-related beliefs. Indirect effects did not support that safety-related beliefs mediated relations between deployment experiences and firearm ownership. The other deployment experiences (sexual harassment, sexual assault, general harassment, combat experiences) were not indirectly associated with firearm ownership, nor were safety-related beliefs (negative cognitions about the world, threat of harm, beliefs about others' reliability and trustworthiness) directly associated with firearm ownership. In an exploratory serial mediation analysis, perceived threat during deployment mediated the association between combat experiences and firearm ownership. In a sensitivity analysis examining firearm acquisition following military service, results were similar, except the indirect effect of combat experiences upon firearm acquisition through perceived threat was not significant.

Conclusion: Post-9/11 women Veterans' firearm acquisition and ownership may relate to specific deployment experiences, such as perceived threat; however, longitudinal studies are needed to fully ascertain this. Efforts to address firearm access among post-9/11 women Veterans may benefit from assessing heightened sense of danger during deployment.

Keywords: Combat; Deployment; Firearm ownership; Perceived threat; women Veterans.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors report grant funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs (Monteith, Kinney, Holliday, Miller, Schneider, Hoffmire, Simonetti, Brenner, Forster), Department of Defense (Monteith, Hoffmire, Brenner, Holliday, Forster), National Institutes of Health (Brenner, Hoffmire, Forster), American Psychological Association (Monteith), and State of Colorado (Brenner). Dr. Brenner also reports editorial renumeration from Wolters Kluwer, and royalties from the American Psychological Association and Oxford University Press. In addition, she consults with sports leagues via her university affiliation.

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Associations between deployment experiences, safety-related beliefs, and firearm ownership among women Veterans

Affiliations

Associations between deployment experiences, safety-related beliefs, and firearm ownership among women Veterans

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