Alcohol use and change over time in firearm safety among families with young children

Five Years of Extreme Risk Protection Orders in Oregon: A Descriptive Analysis

Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) laws have received increasing attention as a tool to prevent firearm suicide and homicide, including mass shootings. However, important gaps remain in our understanding of ERPO usage and implementation. Using the Oregon Judicial Case Information Network database, we abstracted data from all ERPO petitions filed in Oregon from 2018 to 2022, the first five years after the law took effect (N = 649). ERPO petitions were filed in 29 of 36 counties (81%, range 0-105 per county, median 11), against respondents 17-96 years of age (median: 42). Of ERPOs filed, 78% were initially granted. While only 22% of respondents in initially-granted ERPOs requested a hearing, when a hearing was held, nearly half (44%) of ERPOs were dismissed. The majority of ERPO petitions were motivated by threats of harm to respondents and others (n = 327, 50%), followed by threats of harm to others-only (n = 220, 34%) or respondents-only (n = 81, 12%). During the 5-year period, 72 (11%) ERPO petitions cited threats of mass violence as a motivating factor, including 24 (4%) petitions citing threats to schools or college campuses. The majority of ERPOs were filed by law enforcement officers (60%), and these petitions were significantly more often granted than those filed by family/household members (96% vs. 67%, p < .0001). We also found evidence of important gaps in documentation, including of respondent race (unavailable for 191 respondents, 29%) and of weapon removal or disposition after the ERPO was granted (unavailable in 350 cases, 69%). This study of long-term patterns of ERPO petitions highlights trends in usage and suggests areas where improvement may be possible, with implications for other states that have adopted or are considering similar ERPO laws.

Firearm storage practices among military veterans in the United States: Findings from a nationally representative survey

BACKGROUND

Unsafe storage of firearms is associated with increased risk of suicide.. However, contemporary population-based data on the prevalence and correlates of firearm storage practices among veterans are limited.

METHODS

Data were from the 2022 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study, a nationally representative sample of 2441 veterans. Analyses examined: (1) the prevalence of firearm storage practices; (2) sociodemographic, psychiatric, and clinical characteristics associated with storing firearms loaded and/or in non-secure location; and (3) associations between types of potentially traumatic events and storage practices.

RESULTS

More than half of veterans reported owning one or more personal firearms (50.9%). Among firearm owners, 52.9% reported some form of unsafe firearm storage practice (i.e., loaded and/or non-secure location), with 39.9% reporting that they stored one or more firearms loaded. After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, major depressive, alcohol and drug use disorders, direct trauma exposures, future suicidal intent, and traumatic brain injury were associated with storing firearms loaded and/or in a non-secure location (ORs = 1.09-7.16). Veterans with a history of specific forms of direct trauma exposure (e.g., physical assault) were more likely to store firearms unsafely.

LIMITATIONS

Cross-sectional design precludes causal inference.

CONCLUSIONS

Half of U.S. veterans who own firearms store at least one personal firearm loaded and/or in a non-secure location, with approximately four-in-ten keeping a loaded firearm in the home. These high rates underscore the importance of nationwide training initiatives to promote safe firearm storage for all service members and veterans, regardless of risk status, as well as for healthcare professionals working with veterans.

Engagement with Preventive Health Behaviors and Safe Firearm Storage Practices Using the 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

PURPOSE

"Behavioral bundling" is a theory that explains how some health behaviors reinforce one another. This study aims to investigate the relationship between preventive health behaviors (PHBs) and safe firearm storage.

DESIGN

This study used a cross-sectional design using 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey data.

SETTING

Survey participants resided in California, Idaho, Kansas, Oregon, Texas, and Utah.

SUBJECTS

There were 12,817 people living in households with a firearm included in this study.

MEASURES

We classified individuals' engagement in 5 PHBs: cholesterol screening, influenza immunization, physical activity, primary care, and seatbelt use. We defined safe firearm storage as storing a firearm unloaded, or loaded but locked.

ANALYSIS

Using Poisson regression models, we calculated adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) to estimate the association between engagement in the five PHBs with safe firearm storage.

RESULTS

Most firearm owners reported safe firearm storage (80.3%). The prevalence of safe firearm storage was 3% higher for each additional PHB engaged in (aPR = 1.03 [1.01, 1.05]). There was a higher prevalence of safe firearm storage among those who always wore a seatbelt while driving or riding in a car compared to those who did not (aPR = 1.12 [1.05, 1.18]).

CONCLUSION

This study found preliminary evidence to suggest that engagement in seatbelt usage may be bundled with safe firearm storage, though we are not able to determine causality.

Preventing Firearm-Related Death and Injury

Deaths and injuries from firearms are significant public health problems, and clinicians are in a unique position to identify risk among their patients and discuss the importance of safe firearm practices. Although clinicians may be ill-prepared to engage in such discussions, an adequate body of evidence is available for support, and patients are generally receptive to this type of discussion with their physician. Here, we provide an overview of existing research and recommended strategies for counseling and intervention to reduce firearm-related death and injury.

Firearm Storage and Adult Alcohol Misuse Among Washington State Households With Children

IMPORTANCE

Firearm injuries and fatalities among children are an important public health problem. Children living with an adult misusing alcohol may be at a heightened risk for self-harm or unintentional injury, highlighting the need to investigate the association between household firearm storage and adult alcohol misuse.

OBJECTIVES

To characterize household firearm presence among children by various sociodemographic characteristics, and to assess the association between children living in a home with an unsafely stored firearm and an adult reporting alcohol misuse.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

This cross-sectional investigation uses data from the 2013 and 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System in the state of Washington, a program that administers a telephone survey statewide to randomly selected noninstitutionalized adults at least 18 years of age about their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services. The 2013 and 2016 data included 5241 responses to the firearm ownership and storage module and the Random Child Selection module (intended for a randomly selected child younger than age 18 years and reported by an adult living in the same household). Data for this study were collected from January 1 through December 31, 2013, and January 1 through December 31, 2016. Data were analyzed from March through May 2018.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

The primary outcomes were a child's residence in a firearm-owning home, the manner in which household firearms were stored, and the adult respondent's alcohol consumption.

RESULTS

Among the 3443 children living in a non-firearm-owning household, 50.7% were male (all values given as a percentage only are weighted); among those reporting specific age, the weighted mean age was 9.3 years (unweighted mean [SD], 10.1 [5.2] years). In the 1756 children living in a firearm-owning household, 52.5% were male; among those reporting specific age, the weighted mean age was 9.1 years (unweighted mean [SD], 9.8 [5.4] years). An estimated 470 000 children (29.4%; 95% CI, 27.3%-31.7%) in the state resided in a firearm-owning household. Among them, 258 000 children (54.6%; 95% CI, 51.5%-57.6%) lived with at least 1 firearm that was not stored safely (ie, not locked and unloaded). Firearms were more likely to be stored unsafely in homes in which an adult reported alcohol misuse (prevalence ratio: 1.20; 95% CI, 1.07-1.35).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Children living in a household with an adult who misuses alcohol may be more likely to live with an unsafely stored firearm, which is concerning given the association between adult alcohol misuse and children's risk for sustaining injury.

Firearm Ownership in High-Conflict Families: Differences According to State Laws Restricting Firearms to Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence Offenders

This study examines the association between state laws that prohibit firearm ownership for offenders convicted of misdemeanour crimes of domestic violence (MCDV) and firearm ownership in two-parent families with high-conflict male partners with arrest histories. Mixed effects logistic regression models applied to data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth cohort (n = 5,350) determined that living in a state with laws that prohibited firearm ownership for convicted MCDV offenders decreased the likelihood of firearm ownership among families with high-conflict males by 62%. The length of the time limit length on firearm prohibition was correlated with incremental decreases in firearm ownership in such families, with the probability of firearm ownership among families with high-conflict males decreasing from 30% in states with no MCDV laws restricting access from firearms to 12% in states with permanent prohibition on firearm ownership. These findings have significance for public health policy aimed at decreasing intimate-partner homicide.