Citation

Miller M, Barber C, Azrael DR, Hemenway DA, Molnar BE. Inj. Prev. 2009; 15(3): 183-187.

Affiliation

Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. mmiller@hsph.harvard.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/ip.2008.021352

PMID

19494098

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between firearm ownership and possible psychiatric confounders of the firearm-suicide relationship. METHODS: Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the association between living in a home with firearms and 12-month occurrence of major Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM)-IV disorders and suicidal behaviour among respondents to the National Comorbidity Survey Replication, a household survey of 9282 adults aged 18+. Analyses controlled for sociodemographic characteristics including age, sex, race/ethnicity, educational attainment and poverty. RESULTS: Approximately one in three Americans reported living in a home with firearms. People living in a home with firearms were no more or less likely than people in homes without firearms to have recent (past year) anxiety disorders (OR = 1.0, 95% CI 0.8 to 1.2), mood disorders (OR = 0.9, 95% CI 0.7 to 1.1) or substance dependence and/or abuse (OR = 0.9, 95% CI 0.6 to 1.3). Past year suicidal ideation (OR = 0.8, 95% CI 0.5 to 1.3) and suicide planning (OR = 0.5, 95% CI 0.2 to 1.4) were also not associated with living in households with firearms. Having made a suicide attempt over the previous year was the only outcome more common among participants reporting that they currently lived in a home with firearms. CONCLUSIONS: The previously reported association between household firearm ownership and heightened risk of suicide is not explained by a higher risk of psychopathology among gun-owning families. As there are Americans with suicidal ideation and/or significant and recent psychiatric disorders currently living in homes with firearms, future work should focus on understanding the impediments to effectively communicating the suicide risk associated with household firearms.

Language: en