Violence Prevention Research Program, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California, United States of America.
University of California Firearm Violence Research Center, Sacramento, California, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2021 Dec 29;16(12):e0261038. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261038. eCollection 2021.
Though research has established that firearms in the home increase risk for injury and death, a substantial number of Americans, especially gun owners, believe that guns make their homes safer. More than half of gun owners in a nationally-representative survey said "it depends" when asked whether guns make their homes safer or more dangerous, but little is known about the factors that affect perceived safety.
To determine whether the relationship between the presence of firearms and perceived home or neighborhood safety is fixed or depends on additional factors and to identify the additional factors on which it depends.
A mixed-methods cross-sectional analysis of the 2018 state-representative California Safety and Wellbeing Survey (n = 2558, completion rate 49%), including calculation of weighted proportions and qualitative analysis of write-in responses.
One in six respondents (17.2%, 95% CI 14.9% to 19.7%) reported "it depends" when asked whether a gun in their home made the home a safer or more dangerous place to be ("the home scenario"). One in six (16.6%, 95% CI 14.3% to 19.2%) reported "it depends" when asked whether the neighborhood would be safer if all neighbors had guns in the home ("the neighborhood scenario"). For the home scenario, 28.3% (95% CI 21.9% to 35.7%) cited firearm owner characteristics (e.g., training and proficiency, temperament, and mental health), 28.4% (95% CI 22.3% to 35.5%) cited firearm storage and access, and 28.0% (95% CI 21.5% to 35.7%) cited intended use for guns as factors affecting perceived safety. For the neighborhood scenario, respondents overwhelmingly cited gun owner characteristics (72.1%, 95% CI 63.4% to 79.3%). Factors on which "it depends" varied by gun ownership status.
Perceived safety when firearms are in the home depends on numerous factors. Understanding these factors may inform tailored, targeted messaging and interventions for firearm injury prevention.
尽管研究已经证实，家庭中存在枪支会增加受伤和死亡的风险，但仍有相当数量的美国人，尤其是枪支拥有者，认为枪支使他们的家更安全。在一项具有全国代表性的调查中，超过一半的枪支拥有者在被问及枪支是否使他们的家更安全或更危险时表示“视情况而定”，但人们对影响感知安全的因素知之甚少。
确定家中存在枪支与感知家庭或邻里安全之间的关系是固定的还是取决于其他因素，并确定其依赖的其他因素。
对 2018 年具有州代表性的加利福尼亚安全与健康调查（n=2558，完成率为 49%）进行混合方法横断面分析，包括计算加权比例和对书面答复进行定性分析。
六分之一的受访者（17.2%，95%CI 14.9%至 19.7%）在被问及家中的枪支是否使家庭更安全或更危险时表示“视情况而定”（“家庭场景”）。六分之一（16.6%，95%CI 14.3%至 19.2%）的受访者在被问及如果邻居家中都有枪支，邻里是否会更安全时表示“视情况而定”（“邻里场景”）。对于家庭场景，28.3%（95%CI 21.9%至 35.7%）提到枪支拥有者特征（例如，训练和熟练程度、气质和心理健康），28.4%（95%CI 22.3%至 35.5%）提到枪支储存和获取方式，28.0%（95%CI 21.5%至 35.7%）提到枪支的预期用途是影响感知安全的因素。对于邻里场景，受访者压倒性地提到枪支拥有者特征（72.1%，95%CI 63.4%至 79.3%）。“视情况而定”的因素因枪支拥有状况而异。
家中有枪支时的感知安全取决于许多因素。了解这些因素可能为枪支伤害预防提供有针对性的信息和干预措施。
