Purpose

Gun access among youth may contribute to youth suicide deaths by increasing practical capability. The present work examines the association between youth gun and weapon carrying behavior and suicide rates among those aged 24 years and younger.

Methods

Using the 2005–2017 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, the associations over time between youth gun and weapon carrying and youth suicide rates were examined. A series of generalized estimating equations were used to examine population-level associations between states and across time.

Results

As anticipated youth gun carrying behavior was a significant contributor to the prediction of firearm suicide rates for those aged 24 years and younger, with higher rates of youth gun carrying associated with higher suicide rates. Youth gun carrying was not a significant predictor of overall suicide rates for those aged 24 years and younger. Youth weapon carrying (which includes guns, knives, and other weapons) was a significant predictor of both firearm-specific and overall suicide rates for those aged 24 years and younger.

Conclusions

Previous research has linked youth gun carrying behavior to past year suicide attempts. This study represents the first attempt at examining the associations between youth gun carrying behavior and suicide mortality among the young. In line with our expectations, states with higher percentages of youth reporting gun and weapon carrying behavior had greater rates of suicide among the young (those aged 24 years and younger). The present work points toward the importance of limiting youth access to firearms in reducing suicide mortality.

中文翻译：

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2005-2017 年 24 岁及以下年轻人的枪支和武器携带率和自杀率

目的

青少年使用枪支可能会通过提高实际能力而导致青少年自杀死亡。目前的工作研究了 24 岁及以下年轻人携带枪支和武器的行为与自杀率之间的关系。

方法

使用 2005-2017 年青少年风险行为监测系统，研究了青少年枪支和武器携带与青少年自杀率之间随时间推移的关联。使用一系列广义估计方程来检查州之间和跨时间的人口水平关联。

结果

正如预期的那样，青少年持枪行为是预测 24 岁及以下人群枪支自杀率的重要因素，青少年持枪率越高，自杀率越高。青少年携带枪支并不是 24 岁及以下人群总体自杀率的重要预测因素。青少年携带武器（包括枪支、刀具和其他武器）是 24 岁及以下人群特定枪支自杀率和总体自杀率的重要预测指标。

结论

先前的研究已将青少年持枪行为与过去一年的自杀企图联系起来。这项研究代表了第一次尝试检查青少年持枪行为与年轻人自杀死亡率之间的关系。与我们的预期一致，报告携带枪支和武器行为的年轻人比例较高的州的年轻人（24 岁及以下）的自杀率较高。目前的工作指出了限制青少年使用枪支在降低自杀死亡率方面的重要性。