States with higher gun ownership rates experience more youth suicides, study says

A new study found higher rates of youth suicide in states where gun ownership is more prevalent, suggesting that there's a link between the two, even when accounting for other risk factors.

The study, conducted by the School of Public Health, used numbers from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention to determine the number of suicides among people aged 10 to 19 years old between 2005 and 2015. 

Data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys was used to determine each state's gun ownership rate.

Researchers found that there was a 26.9 percent increase in the youth suicide rate for every 10 percentage point increase in household gun ownership. That includes firearm-related and non-firearm-related suicides.

“The availability of firearms is contributing to an increase in the actual number of suicides, not just leading youth to substitute other means of suicide for guns,” Anita Knopov, the study's lead author and pre-doctoral fellow, said.

The study controlled for other risk behaviors such as depression, substance use, socioeconomic status and more.

Alaska was at the top of the list of states with the highest rates of youth suicide with 15.2 per 100,000 people, while the household gun ownership was at 59.8 percent. Wyoming had the hates rate of gun ownership with a 65.5 percent household prevalence, and had the third highest youth suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people.

Florida was No. 41 on the list of states with a rate of 4.0 youth suicides per 100,000 people and gun ownership in 25.2 percent of households.

New Jersey was last on the list for both youth suicides and gun ownership with a rate of  2.6 per 100,000 people and 11.4 percent, respectively.

“This study demonstrates that the strongest single predictor of a state’s youth suicide rate is the prevalence of household gun ownership in that state,” co-author and professor of community health sciences Michael Siegel said. “The level of gun ownership is a much better predictor of youth suicide than even knowing the exact number of youth who will attempt suicide in a given year.”

Researchers suggested that lowering the household prevalence of guns could lead to a lower youth suicide rate.

To read the study in its entirety, click here. You can also see which states had the highest youth suicide rates and gun ownership in the table below.

Table 1 

Average Youth Suicide Rates, Gun Ownership Rates, and Suicidal Behavior Rates

Alaska15.259.827.713.89.4
South Dakota14.959.924.313.58.7
Wyoming11.965.527.515.99.9
Montana11.162.626.613.88.2
New Mexico10.939.730.414.511.1
North Dakota10.656.222.711.68.8
Idaho9.455.728.714.07.9
Colorado8.434.625.210.87.2
Utah8.244.826.512.57.9
Oklahoma7.146.527.811.96.9
Arizona6.832.334.415.19.8
Iowa6.645.723.411.46.6
Nebraska6.445.422.612.28.0
Arkansas6.358.830.014.911.1
Kansas6.242.822.710.26.7
Minnesota6.241.2
Nevada6.034.029.715.19.9
Washington6.034.0
Oregon5.939.8
Hawaii5.910.230.516.011.3
Wisconsin5.843.023.712.17.0
Vermont5.843.821.910.35.3
West Virginia5.758.529.212.88.6
Missouri5.644.226.211.67.6
Kentucky5.547.728.112.78.9
Maine5.340.323.111.37.4
Michigan5.340.827.413.59.0
Indiana5.238.528.314.19.4
Louisiana5.245.030.812.710.9
Ohio5.134.026.412.78.5
Delaware4.826.325.810.27.3
Tennessee4.846.627.912.48.1
Texas4.837.129.412.69.2
Alabama4.752.227.914.09.8
South Carolina4.743.328.012.910.0
Virginia4.537.526.113.48.9
Mississippi4.554.628.012.39.8
North Carolina4.439.427.512.312.0
Pennsylvania4.235.125.711.56.6
New Hampshire4.231.025.410.56.1
Florida4.025.226.210.07.2
Illinois3.920.727.913.09.1
Georgia3.740.329.313.18.7
Maryland3.521.726.212.09.5
Connecticut3.318.125.111.78.7
California3.120.129.715.28.2
Rhode Island3.112.425.111.19.8
Massachusetts3.011.524.811.46.7
New York2.718.525.510.27.7
New Jersey2.611.427.411.28.0

 


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