Bandel Shelby L, Bond Allison E, Anestis Michael D
Rutgers School of Public Health, New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center, 683 Hoes Lane West Piscataway, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA.
Department of Psychology, The State University of New Jersey, 683 Hoes Lane West Piscataway, Rutgers, NJ, 08850, USA.
Inj Epidemiol. 2023 Mar 1;10(1):11. doi: 10.1186/s40621-023-00421-0.
Firearms account for over 40,000 deaths in the USA each year in addition to thousands of nonfatal injuries. One notable prevention strategy for firearm-related fatalities and nonfatal injuries is safe storage. Safe storage of firearms emphasizes using storage mechanisms that limit ready access of firearms to unauthorized users. Cable locks are one safe storage option that is easy to access and typically free, as they are included in many firearms sales. The present study examined the extent to which firearms retailers notifying purchasers at the point of sale about the included cable locks was associated with subsequent locking device use in two large samples and three subsamples. Exploratory analyses then examined demographic factors associated with frequency of seller notification of locks.
Sample 1 included 1203 firearm owners and sample 2 included 1556 firearm owners. Subsamples were drawn from sample 2 to examine if there were differences by state. The three subsamples included firearm owners from Minnesota (n = 515), Mississippi (535), and New Jersey (506). Logistic regressions were used to examine the association between frequency of sellers notifying buyers of locks and subsequent locking device use. Linear regressions were used to examine what demographic factors were associated with greater frequency of seller notification of locking devices.
Results indicated a general trend such that more frequent notification of cable locks at the point of purchase was associated with greater likelihood of using locking devices to secure firearms. At the subsample level, these findings were most consistent for Mississippi relative to Minnesota and New Jersey. Exploratory analyses generally indicated those who were younger and those living in more densely populated areas were more likely to be notified about cable locks at the point of purchase.
These findings suggest that interactions about cable locks at the point of firearm purchase has an impact on firearm storage behaviors. Such results indicate that encouraging firearm retailers to have these discussions with those purchasing firearms might be an important strategy for preventing firearm-related fatalities and nonfatal injuries.
在美国，枪支每年导致4万多人死亡，此外还造成数千起非致命伤害。枪支相关死亡和非致命伤害的一项显著预防策略是安全储存。枪支的安全储存强调使用限制未经授权人员轻易获取枪支的储存机制。电缆锁是一种易于获取且通常免费的安全储存选择，因为许多枪支销售中都包含电缆锁。本研究在两个大样本和三个子样本中，考察了枪支零售商在销售点向购买者告知所附电缆锁的情况与随后使用锁定装置之间的关联程度。探索性分析随后考察了与卖家告知锁具频率相关的人口统计学因素。
样本1包括1203名枪支所有者，样本2包括1556名枪支所有者。从样本2中抽取子样本以检验各州之间是否存在差异。这三个子样本包括来自明尼苏达州（n = 515）、密西西比州（535）和新泽西州（506）的枪支所有者。使用逻辑回归来考察卖家告知买家锁具的频率与随后使用锁定装置之间的关联。使用线性回归来考察哪些人口统计学因素与卖家更频繁地告知锁定装置相关。
结果表明存在一种总体趋势，即购买时更频繁地告知电缆锁与使用锁定装置来确保枪支安全的可能性更大相关。在子样本层面，相对于明尼苏达州和新泽西州，这些发现对于密西西比州最为一致。探索性分析总体表明，年龄较小者以及居住在人口更密集地区的人在购买时更有可能被告知电缆锁。
这些发现表明，在购买枪支时关于电缆锁的交流对枪支储存行为有影响。这些结果表明，鼓励枪支零售商与购买枪支者进行这些讨论可能是预防枪支相关死亡和非致命伤害的一项重要策略。
