Firearm ownership and storage among US college students: results from the healthy minds study, 2021-2022.

The purpose of this study is to address a significant gap in knowledge on firearm ownership rates and storage characteristics in a national sample of college students. We used 2021-2022 survey data from the Healthy Minds Study, which included approximately 88,500 students at over 100 US colleges and universities. We conducted analyses using descriptive statistics and two-sample proportion tests. About 4% of respondents reported having a firearm on or around campus. Among firearm owners, 68.8% reported storing firearms at their permanent address within an hour's drive from campus, and 43.1% reported storing their firearms unloaded and locked. Firearm ownership rates were significantly higher for respondents who were positive for specific risk factors (i.e., in a relationship, suicide ideation, recent binge drinking, and having been physically assaulted) versus those who were negative. These findings support the need for targeted messaging and firearm safety training for college students to reduce firearm-related risks.

A Within-Individual Examination of the Predictors of Gun Carrying During Adolescence and Young Adulthood Among Young Men.

Although prior studies have identified several risk factors for gun carrying, no prior longitudinal studies have examined a comprehensive set of explanatory factors together in within-individual change models or examined whether the predictors of gun carrying change across adolescence and early young adulthood. The present study fills these gaps by examining the predictive utility of several risk factors for gun carrying, and by examining whether any of the associations vary by age. The sample included 1216 young men who were arrested for the first time during adolescence (approximately 15 years old) and interviewed regularly for 5 years (until approximately 20 years old) after the first arrest. The outcome was youth-self-reported gun carrying and the risk factors included several variables consistent with various explanations for gun carrying (psychosocial maturity deficits; antisocial behavioral style; socialization; victimization). Research questions were addressed with fixed effects dynamic panel models (within-individual change models). Results showed that the most robust predictors of gun carrying were increased exposure to guns and gun-related violence and increased engagement in other antisocial and illegal behavior. The results emphasize the specific etiology of gun carrying and the potential social contagion effect of gun-related events. Overall, the study points to the need for prevention and intervention programs to specifically target the reduction of the real and perceived prevalence of gun-related events in young men's lives.

Firearm-related behaviors following firearm injury: changes in ownership, carrying and storage.

Individuals who sustain nonfatal gunshot wound (GSW) injuries are at substantially increased risk of subsequent firearm injury. There is a dearth of literature examining what, if any, firearm-related behavior changes occur among adults as a result of GSW injuries. Using survey data on firearm-related behaviors from an ongoing randomized controlled trial, we sought to describe changes in reported firearm-related behaviors among GSW patients following their injury. Our results suggest that patients with a GSW, especially firearm owners, may change their firearm-related behaviors following injury, some by increasing firearm-related safety and others by increasing frequency of behaviors that may place them at increased risk of subsequent injury. This study highlights the need for further examination of firearm-related behavior change among GSW patients and development of interventions to promote firearm safety among this population.