HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS REGISTER		Author Keyword(s) Vol Page [Advanced]

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sorenson, S. B Articles by Berk, R. A Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sorenson, S. B Articles by Berk, R. A

Young guns: an empirical study of persons who use a firearm in a suicide or a homicide

¹ University of California, Los Angeles: School of Public Health
² Department of Statistics

Correspondence to:
Dr Susan B Sorenson, University of California Los Angeles, School of Public Health, 10833 Le Conte Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, USA

Objectives—The purpose of this investigation was to identify population groups at highest risk of using a firearm in a fatal incident.

Setting—Los Angeles County (California, USA).

Methods—Data were gathered from vital statistics reports and law enforcement records on the characteristics of suicide victims (n = 4799) and homicide suspects (n = 5369) from 1990 through 1994. Logistic regression was used to identify characteristics of the actor/perpetrator that were associated with firearm use.

Results—Persons less than 21 years old and males were more likely to use a firearm to kill themselves or someone else. Even when their other demographic attributes and characteristics of the incident itself were taken into consideration, persons under the age of 18 were substantially more likely than those 21 or more years old to use a firearm in the commission of a homicide (adjusted odds ratio = 2.59). Asians were less likely than white people to use a firearm in the commission of a suicide, whereas black people, Hispanics, and Asians were more likely than whites to use a firearm in the commission of a homicide.

Conclusions—The US enacts and enforces some policies differentially by age. These data support the idea that such an approach may be warranted when addressing fatalities associated with the use of a firearm. Of particular interest, given minimum age requirements for firearm purchases, is the source of the weapons themselves.

Keywords: ethnicity; firearms; homicide; suicide

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. B. Sorenson and K. A. Vittes Mental Health and Firearms in Community-Based Surveys: Implications for Suicide Prevention Eval Rev, June 1, 2008; 32(3): 239 - 256. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. J. Mahon, J. P. Tobin, D. A. Cusack, C. Kelleher, and K. M. Malone Suicide Among Regular-Duty Military Personnel: A Retrospective Case-Control Study of Occupation-Specific Risk Factors for Workplace Suicide Am J Psychiatry, September 1, 2005; 162(9): 1688 - 1696. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. L. Nielsen, R. Martinez Jr., and R. Rosenfeld Firearm Use, Injury, and Lethality in Assaultive Violence: An Examination of Ethnic Differences Homicide Studies, May 1, 2005; 9(2): 83 - 108. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S. B. Sorenson and K. A. Vittes Adolescents and Firearms: A California Statewide Survey Am J Public Health, May 1, 2004; 94(5): 852 - 858. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. A. Pridemore Recognizing Homicide as a Public Health Threat: Toward an Integration of Sociological and Public Health Perspectives in the Study of Violence Homicide Studies, May 1, 2003; 7(2): 182 - 205. [Abstract] [PDF]