Pelletier Karissa R, Pizarro Jesenia M, Royan Regina, Sokol Rebeccah, Cunningham Rebecca M, Zimmerman Marc A, Carter Patrick M
Center for Behavioral Health and Justice, School of Social Work, Wayne State University, 5447 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI, 48202, USA.
School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University, 411 North Central Ave Suite 600, Phoenix, AZ, 85004, USA.
Inj Epidemiol. 2024 Nov 14;11(1):64. doi: 10.1186/s40621-024-00542-0.
Firearm injuries are the leading cause of death for U.S. adolescents. Given the prevalence of firearm ownership in the U.S., particularly among parental figures in homes with children and teens, and the relationship between firearm access and injury outcomes, it is vital to shed light on potential parental motivations for keeping firearms in their homes. The purpose of this analysis was to examine whether exposure to community violence is associated with parental firearm ownership.
Data from the Firearm Safety Among Children and Teens Consortium's National Survey (6/24/2020-7/24/2020) was examined. The survey sample comprised parents/caregivers of high-school-age teens (age 14-18). The survey examined various measures, including firearm ownership, storage, community violence exposure, and sociodemographic characteristics. Stepwise logistic regression was used to examine the association between community violence exposure and parental firearm ownership.
The study included 2,924 participants, with 45.1% identifying as male, 12.9% identifying as Hispanic, and 25.3% identifying as non-White. Among these participants, 43.1% reported firearm ownership, and 49.9% reported exposure to community violence. Regression models demonstrate that community violence exposure is associated with an increased likelihood of firearm ownership among parents/caregivers of high-school age teens (OR = 1.08, p < 0.05). Other significant predictors of firearm ownership among parents/caregivers included parent/caregiver age (OR = 0.99, p < 0.01), marital status (OR = 1.29, p < 0.05), and educational attainment (OR = 0.60, p < 0.001).
The findings supported the hypothesis that community violence exposure was associated with an increased likelihood of parental firearm ownership, even after adjusting for potential confounders. These findings contribute to the existing literature by shedding light on the possible contributing factors for firearm ownership among parents/caregivers of teens. Public health interventions focused on raising awareness about the risks of firearm access in households with youths, providing counseling on locked storage practices, and offering resources for accessing secure firearm storage options, such as rapid access storage, may contribute to reducing firearm access among youth. Additionally, community-based initiatives focused on violence prevention and addressing the root causes of community violence can help create safer environments, thereby reducing the perceived need for accessible firearms in the home by parents and caregivers.
枪支伤害是美国青少年死亡的主要原因。鉴于美国枪支拥有率很高，尤其是在有儿童和青少年的家庭中，以及枪支获取与伤害结果之间的关系，了解父母在家中持有枪支的潜在动机至关重要。本分析的目的是研究社区暴力暴露是否与父母拥有枪支有关。
研究了儿童和青少年枪支安全联盟全国调查（2020年6月24日至2020年7月24日）的数据。调查样本包括高中年龄青少年（14至18岁）的父母/照顾者。该调查考察了各种指标，包括枪支拥有情况、存放方式、社区暴力暴露情况以及社会人口学特征。采用逐步逻辑回归分析来研究社区暴力暴露与父母拥有枪支之间的关联。
该研究纳入了2924名参与者，其中45.1%为男性，12.9%为西班牙裔，25.3%为非白人。在这些参与者中，43.1%报告拥有枪支，49.9%报告曾暴露于社区暴力。回归模型表明，社区暴力暴露与高中年龄青少年的父母/照顾者拥有枪支的可能性增加有关（比值比=1.08，p<0.05）。父母/照顾者拥有枪支的其他显著预测因素包括父母/照顾者年龄（比值比=0.99，p<0.01）、婚姻状况（比值比=1.29，p<0.05）和教育程度（比值比=0.60，p<0.001）。
研究结果支持了这一假设，即即使在调整潜在混杂因素后，社区暴力暴露与父母拥有枪支的可能性增加有关。这些发现通过揭示青少年父母/照顾者拥有枪支的可能促成因素，为现有文献做出了贡献。针对提高对有青少年家庭中枪支获取风险的认识、提供关于枪支上锁存放做法的咨询以及提供获取安全枪支存放选项（如快速存取存放）资源的公共卫生干预措施，可能有助于减少青少年获取枪支的机会。此外，以社区为基础的预防暴力和解决社区暴力根源的举措有助于创造更安全的环境，从而减少父母和照顾者认为家中需要可获取枪支的需求。
