Abstract

Background

While the majority of veteran suicides involve firearms, no contemporary data describing firearm ownership among US veterans are available. This study uses survey data to describe the prevalence of firearm ownership among a nationally representative sample of veterans, as well as veterans’ reasons for firearm ownership.

Methods

A cross-sectional, nationally representative web-based survey conducted in 2015.

Results

Nearly half of all veterans own one or more firearms (44.9%, 95% CI 41.3–48.6%), with male veterans more commonly owning firearms than do female veterans (47.2%, 95% CI 43.4–51.0% versus 24.4%, 95%CI 15.6–36.1%). Most veteran firearm owners own both handguns and long guns (56.5%, 95% CI 51.1–61.8%); a majority cite protection as a primary reason for firearm ownership (63.1%, 95% CI 58.2–67.8%).

Conclusions

The current study is the first to provide detailed, nationally representative information about firearm ownership among U.S. veterans. Better understanding firearm ownership among veterans can usefully inform ongoing suicide prevention efforts aiming to facilitate lethal means safety among vulnerable veterans during at-risk periods.

Details

Title
Firearm ownership among American veterans: findings from the 2015 National Firearm Survey
Author
Cleveland, Emily C 1 ; Azrael, Deborah 2 ; Simonetti, Joseph A 3 ; Miller, Matthew 4 

 Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA (GRID:grid.32224.35) (ISNI:0000 0004 0386 9924) 
 Harvard Injury Control Research Center, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, USA (GRID:grid.38142.3c) (ISNI:000000041936754X) 
 Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Health Administration, Denver, USA (GRID:grid.239186.7) (ISNI:0000 0004 0481 9574) 
 Harvard Injury Control Research Center, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, USA (GRID:grid.38142.3c) (ISNI:000000041936754X); Northeastern University, Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Boston, USA (GRID:grid.261112.7) (ISNI:0000 0001 2173 3359) 
Publication year
2017
Publication date
Dec 2017
Publisher
Springer Nature B.V.
e-ISSN
21971714
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
1984427312
Copyright
Injury Epidemiology is a copyright of Springer, (2017). All Rights Reserved. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.