New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
Department of Urban-Global Public Health, Rutgers The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA.
Inj Prev. 2024 Jan 25;30(1):53-59. doi: 10.1136/ip-2023-044878.
Firearm access and storage practices influence risk for injury and death; however, prior research has considered only national and regional differences on these variables, overlooking state-level differences.
To analyse and describe statewide differences in firearm ownership, storage and use in a representative sample of five US states.
Variables were assessed via an online self-report survey administered between 29 April 2022 and 15 May 2022.
Surveys were completed online.
Participants (n=3510) were members of knowledge panel, a probability-based sample recruited to be representative of US adults. All participants were aged 18+ and resided in one of five states: Colorado, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey or Texas.
We used χ tests to examine state differences in firearm ownership, childhood firearm experiences and purchasing. A series of analyses of covariance were then used to assess differences in firearm storage, firearms owned and carrying behaviours while adjusting for pertinent demographic characteristics.
We found significant differences in firearm ownership across states. There were significantly more first-time firearm purchasers during the firearm purchasing surge in New Jersey. Both Mississippi and Texas have elevated rates of unsecure storage practices and firearm carrying outside of the home.
Results are cross-sectional and self-report. Findings may not generalise beyond the five states assessed in this survey.
Public health messaging around firearm safety should account for differences in key firearm behaviours related to ownership, storage and use to ensure effective communication and reduce the risk of gun injury and death across states.
枪支的获取和存储方式会影响受伤和死亡的风险；然而，先前的研究仅考虑了这些变量的国家和地区差异，而忽略了州级差异。
分析和描述美国五个州的枪支拥有、存储和使用的全州范围内的差异。
通过在 2022 年 4 月 29 日至 5 月 15 日期间进行的在线自我报告调查评估变量。
调查是在线完成的。
参与者（n=3510）是知识面板的成员，这是一个基于概率的样本，旨在代表美国成年人。所有参与者年龄在 18 岁及以上，居住在五个州中的一个：科罗拉多州、明尼苏达州、密西西比州、新泽西州或德克萨斯州。
我们使用 χ 检验来检查各州在枪支拥有、儿童时期枪支经历和购买方面的差异。然后使用一系列协方差分析来评估在调整相关人口特征后，枪支存储、拥有枪支和携带行为方面的差异。
我们发现各州之间在枪支拥有方面存在显著差异。在新泽西州的枪支购买热潮期间，首次购买枪支的人数明显更多。密西西比州和德克萨斯州都有较高的不安全存储做法和在家外携带枪支的比率。
结果是横断面和自我报告的。调查结果可能无法推广到本次调查评估的五个州以外。
枪支安全方面的公共卫生信息应考虑与所有权、存储和使用相关的关键枪支行为差异，以确保有效沟通，并减少各州的枪支伤害和死亡风险。
