New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center, Piscataway.
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick.
JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Oct 1;4(10):e2132111. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.32111.
Firearm access is associated with risk for suicide, and, since early 2020, the US has experienced an unprecedented surge in firearm sales.
To assess frequency of suicidal ideation among individuals who purchased firearms during the surge period (surge purchasers), other firearm owners, and non-firearm owners.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional online survey data were collected from January to June 2021. Participants were recruited via quota sampling through Qualtrics Panels. Within Minnesota, zip codes from Minneapolis and St Paul were oversampled. Participants included 6404 US adults recruited from 3 states: New Jersey (n = 3197), Minnesota (n = 1789), and Mississippi (n = 1418). Participants identified as becoming a first-time firearm owner during the surge period, being an established firearm owner who purchased a firearm during the surge period, being a firearm owner who did not buy firearms during the surge period, and not owning firearms.
The primary outcomes were lifetime, past year, and past month suicidal ideation as measured by the Self-injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview-Revised.
The mean (SD) age within the full sample was 44.81 (18.45) years, with 3132 males (48.8%), 4706 White adults (73.4%), 2674 reporting annual household income less than $50 000 (41.7%), and 1546 (24.1%) reporting current firearm ownership. In the full sample, individuals who purchased firearms during the surge period were more likely than were non-firearm owners to report lifetime suicidal ideation (odds ratio [OR], 2.21; 95% CI, 1.82-2.68), past-year suicidal ideation (OR, 2.10; 95% CI, 1.72-2.55), and past-month suicidal ideation (OR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.41-2.29). In addition, among individuals who purchased firearms during the surge period, first-time owners were more likely than established firearm owners to report lifetime suicidal ideation (OR, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.43-3.14) and past-year suicidal ideation (OR, 2.37; 95% CI, 1.59-3.53). Results were largely consistent across states.
In this survey study, results highlighted that individuals who acquired firearms during the purchasing surge were more likely than other firearm owners and non-firearm owners to have experienced suicidal thoughts. This is particularly true for individuals who purchased a firearm for the first time during the surge period. This illustrates the need to implement policies and interventions that increase safety among firearm purchasers (eg, safe firearm storage) as well as those that promote the acquisition of alternative forms of protection (eg, home alarm systems).
枪支的获取与自杀风险相关，自 2020 年初以来，美国经历了前所未有的枪支销售热潮。
评估在销售热潮期间购买枪支的个人（热潮购买者）、其他枪支拥有者和非枪支拥有者中出现自杀意念的频率。
设计、设置和参与者：横断面在线调查数据于 2021 年 1 月至 6 月期间收集。参与者通过 Qualtrics Panels 通过配额抽样招募。在明尼苏达州，明尼阿波利斯和圣保罗的邮政编码被过度抽样。参与者包括来自 3 个州的 6404 名美国成年人：新泽西州（n=3197）、明尼苏达州（n=1789）和密西西比州（n=1418）。参与者被确定为在热潮期间成为首次枪支所有者、在热潮期间购买枪支的现有枪支所有者、在热潮期间未购买枪支的枪支所有者以及不拥有枪支的人。
主要结局是使用修订后的自我伤害思维和行为访谈评估的终生、过去一年和过去一个月的自杀意念。
全样本的平均（SD）年龄为 44.81（18.45）岁，其中 3132 名男性（48.8%）、4706 名白人成年人（73.4%）、2674 名报告年收入低于 50000 美元（41.7%）和 1546 名（24.1%）报告目前拥有枪支。在全样本中，与非枪支拥有者相比，在销售热潮期间购买枪支的人更有可能报告终生自杀意念（优势比[OR]，2.21；95%CI，1.82-2.68）、过去一年的自杀意念（OR，2.10；95%CI，1.72-2.55）和过去一个月的自杀意念（OR，1.80；95%CI，1.41-2.29）。此外，在销售热潮期间购买枪支的人中，首次购买枪支的人比现有枪支所有者更有可能报告终生自杀意念（OR，2.12；95%CI，1.43-3.14）和过去一年的自杀意念（OR，2.37；95%CI，1.59-3.53）。结果在各州之间基本一致。
在这项调查研究中，结果强调在购买热潮期间获得枪支的人比其他枪支拥有者和非枪支拥有者更有可能经历自杀念头。对于在销售热潮期间首次购买枪支的人来说尤其如此。这说明了需要实施政策和干预措施，以提高枪支购买者的安全性（例如，安全储存枪支），并促进获取替代形式的保护（例如，家庭报警系统）。
