Abstract
Firearm access is associated with risk for suicide, and, since early 2020, the US has experienced an unprecedented surge in firearm sales. To assess frequency of suicidal ideation among individuals who purchased firearms during the surge period (surge purchasers), other firearm owners, and non-firearm owners. Cross-sectional online survey data were collected from January to June 2021. Participants were recruited via quota sampling through Qualtrics Panels. Within Minnesota, zip codes from Minneapolis and St Paul were oversampled. Participants included 6404 US adults recruited from 3 states: New Jersey (n = 3197), Minnesota (n = 1789), and Mississippi (n = 1418). Participants identified as becoming a first-time firearm owner during the surge period, being an established firearm owner who purchased a firearm during the surge period, being a firearm owner who did not buy firearms during the surge period, and not owning firearms. The primary outcomes were lifetime, past year, and past month suicidal ideation as measured by the Self-injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview-Revised. The mean (SD) age within the full sample was 44.81 (18.45) years, with 3132 males (48.8%), 4706 White adults (73.4%), 2674 reporting annual household income less than $50 000 (41.7%), and 1546 (24.1%) reporting current firearm ownership. In the full sample, individuals who purchased firearms during the surge period were more likely than were non-firearm owners to report lifetime suicidal ideation (odds ratio [OR], 2.21; 95% CI, 1.82-2.68), past-year suicidal ideation (OR, 2.10; 95% CI, 1.72-2.55), and past-month suicidal ideation (OR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.41-2.29). In addition, among individuals who purchased firearms during the surge period, first-time owners were more likely than established firearm owners to report lifetime suicidal ideation (OR, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.43-3.14) and past-year suicidal ideation (OR, 2.37; 95% CI, 1.59-3.53). Results were largely consistent across states. In this survey study, results highlighted that individuals who acquired firearms during the purchasing surge were more likely than other firearm owners and non-firearm owners to have experienced suicidal thoughts. This is particularly true for individuals who purchased a firearm for the first time during the surge period. This illustrates the need to implement policies and interventions that increase safety among firearm purchasers (eg, safe firearm storage) as well as those that promote the acquisition of alternative forms of protection (eg, home alarm systems).
Highlights
Throughout 2020 and 2021, the US experienced multiple tumultuous events, including a pandemic, contentious presidential and state elections, and a racial justice movement that arose in response to police brutality toward Black, Indigenous, and other racial and ethnic minority communities
Individuals who purchased firearms during the surge period were more likely than were non–firearm owners to report lifetime suicidal ideation, past-year suicidal ideation (OR, 2.10; 95% CI, 1.72-2.55), and past-month suicidal ideation (OR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.41-2.29)
Key Points Question Are individuals who purchased firearms during the 2020 to 2021 purchasing surge more likely than other firearm owners and non–firearm owners to have experienced suicidal ideation?. Results of this survey study of 6404 adults sampled from New Jersey, Minnesota, and Mississippi indicated that surge purchasers were more likely than non–firearm owners to report lifetime, past year, and past month suicidal ideation
Summary
Throughout 2020 and 2021, the US experienced multiple tumultuous events, including a pandemic, contentious presidential and state elections, and a racial justice movement that arose in response to police brutality toward Black, Indigenous, and other racial and ethnic minority communities. During and perhaps in response to these events, the US experienced a surge in firearm sales. It is difficult to determine national firearm sales figures accurately, various groups have provided estimates. Based on background check data, an estimated 2 million firearms were purchased in March 2020,1 and more than 2.5 million Americans became first-time gun owners during the early months of 2020.2 The surge in firearm sales continued throughout 2020, with an estimated 23 million firearms sold,[3] an increase from 2019 (13.9 million firearms sold) and 2018 (13.8 million firearms sold).[4] This surge is notable because of its scale and because firearm access is associated with gun violence–related outcomes, including suicide.[5,6,7]
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