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Who are the Owners of Firearms Used in Adolescent Suicides?
Author(s) -
Johnson Renee M.,
Barber Catherine,
Azrael Deborah,
Clark David E.,
Hemenway David
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1521/suli.2010.40.6.609
Subject(s) - suicide prevention , injury prevention , poison control , occupational safety and health , human factors and ergonomics , limiting , metropolitan area , medicine , medical examiner , environmental health , medical emergency , demography , engineering , sociology , mechanical engineering , pathology
In this brief report, the source of firearms used in adolescent suicides was examined using data from the National Violent Injury Statistics System, the pilot to the CDC's National Violent Death Reporting System, a uniform reporting system for violent and firearm‐related deaths. Data represent the 63 firearm suicides among youth (<18 yrs) that occurred in 2001 or 2002 in one of four states (CT, ME, UT, WI) or two metropolitan counties (San Francisco, CA; Allegheny County, PA). Four‐fifths of the suicides took place in the decedents' homes, and—when the firearm owner was known—most of the firearms were owned by parents. Findings replicate results from previous research and highlight the importance of limiting youth access to firearms.