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. 2023 Feb 10;18(2):e0280431.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280431. eCollection 2023.

"Feel the need to prepare for Armageddon even though I do not believe it will happen": Women Veterans' Firearm Beliefs and Behaviors during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Associations with Military Sexual Assault and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms

Lindsey L Monteith  1   2   3 , Christin N Miller  1 , Evan Polzer  1 , Ryan Holliday  1   2 , Claire A Hoffmire  1   3 , Christe'An D Iglesias  1 , Alexandra L Schneider  1 , Lisa A Brenner  1   2   3   4 , Joseph A Simonetti  1   5
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"Feel the need to prepare for Armageddon even though I do not believe it will happen": Women Veterans' Firearm Beliefs and Behaviors during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Associations with Military Sexual Assault and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms

Lindsey L Monteith et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Aims: Firearm purchasing increased within the U.S. during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. While rates of firearm ownership and suicide are elevated among women Veterans compared to women non-Veterans, no studies have examined if and how firearm beliefs and behaviors changed among women Veterans during the pandemic. We examined women Veterans' changes in firearm beliefs and engagement in firearm behaviors during the early pandemic era.

Method: 3,000 post-9/11 era women Veterans were invited to participate in a survey. 501 respondents (May-December 2020) comprised the sample for this concurrent nested mixed-method analysis. Thematic analysis and log-binomial regression were used.

Results: 13.88% (n = 69) of women Veterans in our sample reported changes in their firearm beliefs; 22.15% (n = 109) reported engaging in firearm behaviors. The most prevalent reported behaviors were making household firearms more accessible (16.13%) and purchasing ammunition (11.97%). Smaller percentages reported carrying a firearm more frequently (6.71%), loading previously unloaded firearms (5.69%), or purchasing a firearm (4.24%). Thematic analysis suggested firearm behaviors were likely driven by a perceived increased need to protect oneself, family, and property due to: (1) uncertainties brought on by the pandemic; (2) pandemic-related threats necessitating self-defense, preparedness, and self-sufficiency; (3) political, social, and racial unrest and protests. PTSD symptom severity and military sexual assault history were associated with higher prevalence of changes in firearm beliefs and engagement in firearm behaviors during the pandemic.

Discussion: Consideration of women Veterans' prior experiences and pandemic-related factors may be necessary to contextualize firearm discussions and inform future research. Given associations of military sexual assault and PTSD symptoms with firearm beliefs and behaviors, it may be crucial to ensure that such discussion are trauma-informed.

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Conflict of interest statement

I have read the journal’s policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: All authors report grant funding from the VA. Drs. Monteith, Holliday, Hoffmire and Brenner also report grant funding from the Department of Defense. Drs. Hoffmire and Brenner additionally report funding from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Brenner also reports grants from the State of Colorado, 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. While this funding does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials, we do not have approval by our regulatory authority to share de-identified data publicly for this study, but rather are able to consider such requests through a Data Use Agreement and verification of IRB approval from the requestor.

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