Citation

Aase DM, McManimen S, Hay J, Long C, Bryan CJ. J. Psychiatr. Res. 2024; 175: 200-204.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.05.026

PMID

38739953

Abstract

Recent studies have suggested that owning a firearm for the purpose of protection and intending to acquire a firearm within the next year are associated with disrupted cognitive-affective processes that may increase firearm suicide risk. Prior studies were limited by self-report measures and would benefit from the utilization of objective indicators of cognitive functioning to clarify associations between firearm ownership and cognitive-affective states. The present study examined objective cognitive performance in a sample of U.S. adults in relation to firearm ownership variables. Based on prior studies, we hypothesized that protective owners and individuals with the intention to acquire a firearm within the next year would demonstrate reduced performance on decision-making, mental flexibility, and emotional bias tasks. A total of 112 participants (61% female, 79% white) completed objective cognitive tasks following completion of a larger survey study through ResearchMatch.

RESULTS indicated that intention to purchase a firearm within the next year was not associated with cognitive functioning but was associated with an array of heightened psychiatric symptoms. Owning a firearm for the purpose of protection was associated with decreased mental flexibility relative to non-owners, but no differences were seen for decision-making or emotional bias. These findings represent the first attempt to examine underlying objective cognitive processes related to firearm ownership, and implications for future research are discussed.

Language: en

Keywords

Cognition; Firearms; Neuropsychology; PTSD; Suicide; Threat