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Firearm access, storage practices, and suicidal ideation among California veterans in 2021
Firearm access, storage practices, and suicidal ideation among California veterans in 2021
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Fact sheet (UCLA Center for Health Policy Research)
- Author(s):
- Simonetti, Joseph, author
Wright-Kelly, Erin, author
Maksimuk, Tiffany, author
Betz, Marian, author - Contributor(s):
- UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, issuing body.
- Publication:
- Los Angeles, California : UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, April 2023
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Firearms -- statistics & numerical data
Suicidal Ideation
Veterans -- statistics & numerical data
Veterans Health -- statistics & numerical data
California - Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- According to the California Department of Public Health, 583 veterans died by suicide in California in 2020, with 61% of those suicides the result of firearm injuries (62% among males; 25% among females). Access to a firearm and specific storage practices--such as storing a firearm loaded with ammunition and unlocked--are associated with increased suicide risk. Since many policies impacting firearm use and ownership are initiated at the state level, it is important to understand state specific prevalence of firearm access and firearm storage practices and their intersection with mental health risk factors for suicide. This understanding can inform clinical, public health, and policy efforts to prevent firearm suicides among California’s veteran population. Questions that were asked of adolescents and adults in the 2021 California Health Interview Survey included items assessing sociodemographic and military service characteristics, firearm access, firearm storage practices, health care access, and mental health characteristics relevant to suicide risk. The mental health characteristics include serious psychological distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale [K6]), past-year suicidal ideation, and lifetime suicidal ideation and suicide attempt. For this fact sheet, we report findings from respondents ages 18 years and older who identified themselves as military veterans and who resided in a household with at least one firearm, such as a pistol, shotgun, or rifle, including those kept in garages, outdoor storage areas, or motor vehicles. Participants were asked not to include “BB guns, starter pistols, or guns that could not fire.” We describe firearm access and storage practices among California veterans overall, then stratify these by whether respondents reported any lifetime suicidal ideation--an important correlate of future suicide risk. Estimates are weighted to represent the statewide population of veterans who reside in households with firearms.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (6 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918627286506676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918627286506676