New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center, United States; School of Public Health, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, United States.
School of Psychology, University of Southern Mississippi, United States.
Psychiatry Res. 2020 Sep;291:113277. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113277. Epub 2020 Jul 2.
Firearms account for the majority of suicide deaths in the United States military and access to firearms is a risk factor for suicide. Prior research has shown service members tend to store firearms unsafely, with some research indicating this is particularly true among those with elevated suicide risk. Existing research has focused on individuals at known risk for suicide; however, those who die by suicide using a firearm are prone to avoiding mental healthcare and underreporting suicidal ideation, thereby necessitating an understanding of this phenomenon among firearm owners outside of the mental healthcare system. The present study examined firearm storage and suicide risk in a large nonclinical sample of service members (total sample n = 953; firearm owning sample = 473). Lifetime suicidal ideation, current depressive symptoms, and perceived likelihood of making a future suicide attempt were associated with unsafe firearm storage. In contrast, lifetime suicidal ideation was not associated with a greater likelihood to own firearms. These findings suggest those at risk of suicide are more likely to store firearms unsafely, which increases ease of access to firearms. These findings reiterate the importance of means safety as a suicide prevention strategy.
枪支在美国军队的自杀死亡中占大多数，而获得枪支是自杀的一个风险因素。先前的研究表明，军人往往不安全地储存枪支，一些研究表明，对于那些自杀风险较高的人来说，这种情况尤其如此。现有研究主要集中在已知有自杀风险的个人身上；然而，那些使用枪支自杀的人往往回避心理健康保健并少报自杀意念，因此需要了解心理健康保健系统之外的枪支拥有者的这种现象。本研究在一个大型非临床军人样本中（总样本 n=953；拥有枪支样本 n=473）研究了枪支储存与自杀风险。一生中的自杀意念、当前的抑郁症状和未来自杀企图的可能性知觉与不安全的枪支储存有关。相比之下，一生中的自杀意念与拥有枪支的可能性增加无关。这些发现表明，有自杀风险的人更有可能不安全地储存枪支，这增加了获得枪支的便利性。这些发现重申了作为自杀预防策略的手段安全的重要性。
