Sokol, R., Oliphant, S., Bhatia, S., Thulin, E. J., Degli Esposti, M., & Hans, Z. (2024). Associations between perceived threats and firearm behaviors among US adults. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2024.06.024
Abstract
Introduction
The number of US adults who own and carry a firearm for self-defense is rising. Research has established that owning or carrying a firearm increases the risk of injury and death for firearm owners and the people in their lives. The present study sought to better understand this paradox by estimating associations of perceived specific and diffuse threats with firearm behaviors among US adults.
Methods
The team used data from the 2023 National Firearm Attitudes and Behaviors Study, a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of US adults. Binary and ordinal logistic regression estimated associations of perceived specific (fear of attack in the community, fear of someone breaking into the home) and diffuse threats (belief in a dangerous world) with firearm ownership and carriage frequency, overall and stratified by gender. Adjusted models controlled for violence exposures and demographic characteristics. The team conducted analyses in 2024.
Results
Among all US adults, the perceived specific threat of someone breaking into the home was associated with firearm ownership (aORs: 1.09[0.98, 1.23]). Among firearm-owning adults, the diffuse threat of belief in a dangerous world was associated with firearm carriage frequency (1.11[0.98, 1.25]). Both associations persisted among men (aORs=1.27[1.05-1.52] and 1.15[1.01-1.31], respectively), and analyses found no associations between perceived threats and firearm behaviors among women.
Conclusions
Perceived threats are associated with firearm behaviors among US men, even after accounting for the actual violence they report experiencing or witnessing.