Objective:
Historically, firearm ownership is not associated with suicidal thoughts, which is extremely important given that firearms are so much more lethal than other methods of suicide. In this study, however, we examined if this trend remained true during the 2020 firearm purchasing surge. Alarmingly, those who purchased firearms during the purchasing surge were far more likely to have experienced lifetime, past year, and past month suicidal thoughts than were other firearm owners and non-firearm owners. This means that those purchasing during the surge may be a different cohort – one at particularly high risk for suicide and indicates that we cannot simply assume that research from the past applies to the current moment.
Method:
Participants (N=3,500) were recruited through Qualtrics Panels to participate in an online survey examining methods for self-protection. ANCOVAs were utilized to assess suicidal ideation. Multivariate ANCOVAs were used to examine firearm storage practices and storage changes during COVID-19. Data were collected in late June and early July 2020, and analyses were conducted in July 2020.
Project Status:
Completed
Principal Investigator (PI):
Michael D. Anestis, PhD, Allison E. Bond, MS, Samantha E. Daruwala, PhD, Shelby L. Bandel, MS, Craig J. Bryan, PsyD ABPP