• Ian C Fischer, Frances M Aunon, Brandon Nichter, Melanie L Hill, Kaitlyn E Panza, Alexander C Kline, Peter J Na, Jack Tsai, Ilan Harpaz-Rotem, and Robert H Pietrzak.
• National Center for PTSD, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, West Haven, Connecticut; Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut. Electronic address: ian.fischer@yale.edu.
• Am J Prev Med. 2023 Dec 1; 65 (6): 112911331129-1133.

IntroductionThis study aimed to identify the prevalence and correlates of firearm ownership in a large, contemporary, nationally representative sample of U.S. military veterans.MethodsData were analyzed from the 2022 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study (N=2,326; mean age=60.2 years). Weighted independent-sample t-tests and chi-square analyses were conducted to compare veterans who did with those who did not report firearm ownership on sociodemographic, military, and psychiatric variables. A multivariable logistic regression analysis using backward elimination was conducted to identify the characteristics independently associated with firearm ownership, and a relative importance analysis was conducted to quantify the relative variance in firearm ownership that was explained by each of the statistically significant main effects.ResultsOf the total 2,326 veterans, 1,217 (weighted 50.9%, 95% CI=48.0%, 53.9%) reported owning any firearms. Male sex, conservative political ideology, living in rural area, home ownership, cumulative trauma burden, and lifetime history of alcohol use disorder were most strongly associated with firearm ownership.ConclusionsThis study provides an updated characterization of the prevalence and correlates of firearm ownership among the U.S. veterans. Results of this nationally representative study suggest that firearm ownership in this group may be higher than previously reported and underscore the importance of targeted suicide prevention efforts promoting firearm safety among vulnerable segments of this population.Published by Elsevier Inc.

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