I doubt that the presence of a
firearm changes the probability of suicide at all. For my Gun Facts book
(www.GunFacts.info), I did two simple
spot checks:
- Suicide rate over time in the
U.S. contrasted with handgun supply (page 10)
- Suicide and private firearm
ownership rates for industrialized countries (page 15)
It is pretty clear than there
is no positive correlation between the rate of total suicides and firearm
availability, though it may be true that firearm availability may
increase the likelihood of suicide by firearm than by other methods (pills,
razor blades, tall buildings, etc.).
More seriously, the risk factor, if real, would
seem to be very low. Pretty obviously,
with 35-40% of American homes having at least one
gun, it can't be a very high risk factor,
or there would be a lot fewer homes.
I do not doubt that the presence of guns
represents a risk for some people, in some homes.
All other things being equal, the person with a
history of depression or alcohol abuse is probably
at more risk of suicide with a gun present than
the same person without a gun present.
But I find it hard to believe that the presence
of firearms is a greater risk factor than say,
the presence of alcohol, or the presence of
methamphetamines.
Clayton E. cramer
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, November 05, 2004 10:29
PM
Subject: [spam] Re: Guns in Home
Increase Danger to Occupants, Survey Finds
All of mine must be
defective.
>>> dr Zox <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 11/05/04 11:00PM
>>>
Guns in Home Increase Danger to Occupants, Survey
Finds
11/5/2004
http://www.jointogether.org/gv/news/summaries/reader/
0,2061,575116,00.html
Having guns in the home increases
occupants' chances of being killed
or injured by firearms,
according to the Nov. 15 issue of the Journal
of American
Epidemiology.
The Journal analyzed findings from a survey that sought
to identify the
relationships between gun storage practices, types
of gun, and number
of guns in the home and risk to
occupants.
The survey found that persons with guns in the home were
more likely to
die from gun homicides in the home, but that the
risk varied by age and
whether victims lived with someone else at
the time of death.
While the study found that having a gun in the
home increased the risk
of firearms homicide and suicide, the
effect that storage practices and
types and numbers of guns had on
risk was
unclear.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
http://aje.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/160/10/929
ORIGINAL
CONTRIBUTIONS
Guns in the Home and Risk of a Violent Death in the
Home: Findings from
a National Study
Linda L.
Dahlberg1 , Robin M. Ikeda2 and Marcie-jo Kresnow3
1
Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury
Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention,
Atlanta, GA.
2 Epidemiology Program Office, Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention, Atlanta, GA.
3 Office of
Statistics and Programming, National Center for Injury
Prevention
and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
Atlanta,
GA.
Data from a US mortality follow-back survey were analyzed
to determine
whether having a firearm in the home increases the
risk of a violent
death in the home and whether risk varies by
storage practice, type of
gun, or number of guns in the home.
Those persons with guns in the home
were at greater risk than
those without guns in the home of dying from
a homicide in the
home (adjusted odds ratio = 1.9, 95% confidence
interval: 1.1,
3.4). They were also at greater risk of dying from a
firearm
homicide, but risk varied by age and whether the person was
living
with others at the time of death. The risk of dying from a
suicide
in the home was greater for males in homes with guns than for
males without guns in the home (adjusted odds ratio = 10.4, 95%
confidence interval: 5.8, 18.9). Persons with guns in the home
were
also more likely to have died from suicide committed with a
firearm
than from one committed by using a different method
(adjusted odds
ratio = 31.1, 95% confidence interval: 19.5, 49.6).
Results show that
regardless of storage practice, type of gun, or
number of firearms in
the home, having a gun in the home was
associated with an increased
risk of firearm homicide and firearm
suicide in the home.
Key Words: firearms; homicide; suicide;
violence; wounds and injuries
_______________________________________________
To post, send
message to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To subscribe, unsubscribe,
change options, or get password, see
http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/firearmsregprof
Please
note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as
private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are
posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or
wrongly) forward the messages to others.
|
