Abstract

Firearm availability is correlated with increased suicide mortality. Some firearm owners may be more vulnerable to suicide than others, but heterogeneity among firearm owners has received little empirical attention. The present study used latent class analysis (LCA) to identify subgroups of firearm owners who keep firearms primarily for protection (i.e., protective firearm owners) in a national sample of 2311 U.S. adult firearm owners. Self-protection was the primary motive for firearm ownership for 1135 (49.1%) participants. Results of the LCA identified three latent classes that differed with respect to secondary reasons for firearm ownership, number and types of firearms owned, firearm ownership history, and demographics. The smallest latent class (n = 26, 2.3% of protective firearm owners), which owned a high volume of firearms and had high levels of early childhood exposure to firearms, reported significantly higher rates of lifetime preparatory suicidal behaviors. Results suggest that firearm owners are a heterogeneous population, with some subgroups being more vulnerable to suicide than others.

摘要

枪支供应与自杀死亡率增加相关。一些枪支拥有者可能比其他人更容易自杀，但枪支拥有者之间的异质性几乎没有受到实证研究的关注。本研究使用潜在类别分析 (LCA) 在 2311 名美国成人枪支拥有者的全国样本中确定主要出于保护目的而持有枪支的枪支拥有者亚组（即保护性枪支拥有者）。自我保护是 1135 名 (49.1%) 参与者拥有枪支的主要动机。LCA 的结果确定了三个潜在类别，这些类别在枪支拥有的次要原因、拥有的枪支数量和类型、枪支拥有历史和人口统计方面有所不同。最小的潜在类（n = 26, 2.3% 的保护性枪支拥有者）拥有大量枪支并且儿童早期接触枪支的程度很高，他们报告的终生准备性自杀行为率显着更高。结果表明，枪支拥有者是一个异质人群，其中一些亚群比其他亚群更容易自杀。