Introduction
Given the increase in firearm purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study seeks
to determine the extent to which COVID-19 firearm purchasers differ in terms of suicide
risk from nonfirearm owners and firearm owners who did not make a purchase during
COVID-19.
Methods
Participants (N=3,500) were recruited through Qualtrics Panels to participate in an
online survey examining methods for self-protection. ANCOVAs were utilized to assess
suicidal ideation. Multivariate ANCOVAs were used to examine firearm storage practices
and storage changes during COVID-19. Data were collected in late June and early July
2020, and analyses were conducted in July 2020.
Results
Individuals who purchased a firearm during COVID-19 more frequently reported lifetime,
past-year, and past-month suicidal ideation than nonfirearm owners and firearm owners
who did not make a purchase during COVID-19. COVID-19 purchasers with lifetime ideation
were less likely to hide loaded firearms in a closet than those without lifetime ideation.
COVID-19 purchasers with past-year or past-month ideation were more likely to use
locking devices than COVID-19 purchasers without past-month ideation.
Conclusions
In contrast to firearm owners more generally, COVID-19 firearm purchasers appear far
more likely to have experienced suicidal ideation and appear less likely to use certain
unsafe firearm storage methods but also report a greater number of storage changes
during COVID-19 that made firearms less secure. Future research should seek to further
understand those who purchased a firearm during COVID-19 and determine ways to increase
secure storage among firearm owners.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 16, 2020
Identification
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© 2020 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
