• Anita Knopov, Rebecca J Sherman, Julia R Raifman, Elysia Larson, and Michael B Siegel.
• Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.
• Am J Prev Med. 2019 Mar 1; 56 (3): 335-342.

IntroductionDetermining whether the prevalence of gun ownership is associated with youth suicide is critical to inform policy to address this problem. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between the prevalence of household gun ownership in a state and that state's rate of youth suicide.MethodsThis study, conducted in 2018, involved a secondary analysis of state-level data for the U.S. using multivariable linear regression. The relationship between the prevalence of household gun ownership and youth (aged 10-19 years) suicide rates was examined in a time-lagged analysis of state-level household gun ownership in 2004 and youth suicide rates in the subsequent decade (2005-2015), while controlling for the prevalence of youth suicide attempts and other risk factors.ResultsHousehold gun ownership was positively associated with the overall youth suicide rate. For each 10 percentage-point increase in household gun ownership, the youth suicide rate increased by 26.9% (95% CI=14.0%, 39.8%).ConclusionsBecause states with high levels of household gun ownership are likely to experience higher youth suicide rates, these states should be especially concerned about implementing programs and policies to ameliorate this risk.Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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