Gun access, ownership, gun-related experiences, and substance use in young adults: a latent class analysis

Substance use and firearm access among college freshmen

OBJECTIVE

Examine the proportion of students with rapid firearm access and associations with recent alcohol and marijuana use.

PARTICIPANTS

Cross-sectional data from college freshmen (n = 183) in 2020 who participated in the Mason: Health Starts Here study.

METHODS

Using logistic regression, associations were examined between past 30-day substance use and access to firearms within 15-min.

RESULTS

More than 10% of students could rapidly access a firearm, 53% of whom were current binge drinkers, compared to 13% of those who could not rapidly access firearms. Non-Hispanic White students (AOR = 4.1, 95%CI = 1.3,12.7) and past 30-day binge drinkers (AOR = 6.4, 95%CI = 2.1,19.7) had greater odds of having rapid firearm access. Age, sex, and past 30-day marijuana use were not associated with rapid access.

CONCLUSIONS

A notable proportion of students had rapid firearm access, which was strongly associated with recent binge drinking. Campus prevention programs should consider how their alcohol and firearm policies could be enhanced to prevent violence/self-harm.

Drugs, guns, and violent crime in California

BACKGROUND

There is evidence linking use of controlled substances with perpetration of interpersonal violence. While the United States constitution protects the right to own a firearm, federal law prohibits firearm purchase and possession by persons believed to be at high risk for violence, including those who use controlled substances unlawfully.

METHODS

We report here the results of a 13-year prospective observational study on the risk of violent crime associated with a history of criminal drug charges in a cohort of 79,678 legal purchasers of handguns in California in 2001. The main outcomes were post-purchase charges for any violent crime, violent Crime Index crimes (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault), and firearm-related violent crimes. The main exposure of interest was a history of pre-purchase charge(s) for drug-related offenses; we examined as a secondary exposure a history of marijuana-related charges. We estimated adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) with 95 % confidence intervals (CI) using Cox proportional hazards multiple events models.

RESULTS

We found that legal handgun purchasers in California with a history of drug-related charges, even those with marijuana charges only, had triple the risk of a post-purchase violent crime charge compared to purchasers with no criminal charges (drug charges only: aHR=2.9, 95 % CI 2.2-3.8; marijuana charges only: aHR=3.3, 95 % CI 1.8-6.0). In addition, a criminal history of drug charges only vs. no criminal history was associated with increased risk of one or more violent crime charges after the first post-purchase arrest event (aHR=1.6, 95 % CI 1.2-2.3).

CONCLUSION

It is incumbent on researchers and policy makers to understand the nature and causes of this risk in order to take effective steps towards mitigation.

Examining Recovery Status and Supports before and after Substance Abuse Disorder Treatment Among Clients Who Experienced Lifetime and Recent Firearm-Related Threats

Firearm-related risks have often been overlooked in the sequela of substance use and substance use disorders. This study compares adult substance abuse disorder treatment (SADT) clients who experienced recent ( n = 274) and lifetime ( n = 889) firearm threats to adults who were not threatened with a firearm ( n = 2029) before and 12 months after program entry. More men experienced firearm threats (38.8%) than women (34.2%). However, among those with any firearm threats, more women (27.2%) experienced firearm threats in the year before program entry than men (20.2%). Being threatened with a firearm was associated with increased economic vulnerability, criminal justice system involvement, mental health problems, and victimization both before and after SADT program entry. A higher number of adverse childhood experiences were associated with firearm threats and particularly recent firearm threats. Results of this study underscore the importance of screening for firearm-related risks in substance abuse disorder treatment programs.

Developmental Comorbidity of Substance Use and Handgun Carrying Among U.S. Youth

INTRODUCTION

This study identifies the longitudinal trajectories of multiple forms of substance use and handgun carrying and examines their comorbidity over time.

METHODS

In a cohort study of 6,748 youth from a U.S. nationally representative sample (51% male, 49% female; 69% White, 16% Black, 14% Hispanic, and 1% other race/ethnicity; born between 1980 and 1984), individuals self-reported their substance-use status (i.e., smoking, drinking, marijuana use, and hard drug use), handgun carrying, and other covariates between 1997 and 2013. Group-based trajectory modeling was used to identify distinct patterns of substance use and handgun carrying over time. Chi-square tests were used to determine the bivariate associations between substance-use and handgun-carrying trajectories, and a multinomial logistic regression examined the associations while adjusting for covariates. Analyses were conducted in 2020.

RESULTS

Trajectories of all the 4 forms of substance use were associated with handgun-carrying trajectories. Specifically, the risk of being in the declining trajectory of handgun carrying (compared with that of being in the very-low trajectory) was higher for participants who were in the decreasing trajectories of smoking, drinking, marijuana use, and hard drug use and lower for those who were in the increasing trajectory of drinking. Inversely, the risks of being in the low and high-increasing trajectories of handgun carrying (compared with that of being in the very-low trajectory) were higher for participants who were in the increasing trajectory of hard drug use.

CONCLUSIONS

Both substance use and gun carrying are developmentally heterogeneous phenomena. Varied forms of substance use should be targeted to counter the distinct gun carrying patterns.

Young adults' intention to quit using JUUL

BACKGROUND

With research indicating some young audiences may desire to quit using JUUL, a high-nicotine e-cigarette, we sought to explore factors that may motivate them to quit.

METHODS

This sequential, mixed methods study included a cross-sectional online survey of college students (n = 631) followed by in-person interviews (n = 51) with survey participants. Data were collected March-April 2019. The survey asked about intention to quit using JUUL. A latent class analysis (LCA) identified participant groups who would quit for various reasons. Participants were also asked 'Can you be too old to JUUL?' during the survey. During the interviews, participants were provided preliminary survey findings and asked about their perceptions of the data. Interview participants were also asked about their expectations for future use of JUUL.

RESULTS

Four classes emerged from the LCA, indicating costs to self (i.e., harm to lungs/brain, price; 46.8%), financial costs (36.6%), all costs (e.g., social, monetary, health; 9.3%), and harm to self (7.3%) may have influenced our sample's decision to quit using JUUL. Interviewees affirmed desires to quit using JUUL, especially after leaving college. Only 27.19% of survey participants reported an age threshold for using JUUL (M = 31.8 years, SD = 10.0); however, several interviewees explained that although someone could not be too old to JUUL, it would be 'immature' or 'childish' for adults who were not trying to quit smoking to use JUUL socially.

DISCUSSION

Comprehensive tobacco control strategies such as taxing e-cigarettes, marketing campaigns, and nicotine cessation programs are needed to help nicotine dependent young adults quit using high-nicotine e-cigarettes.