ObjectivesAlthough firearms are the leading suicide means among female veterans, firearm research in this population remains limited. This study explored female veterans' firearm‐related experiences and perspectives.MethodSixteen cisgender female veterans (ages 27‐69) participated in qualitative interviews.ResultsParticipants gained initial firearm knowledge and exposure in childhood and adolescence through older male family members. Military service led to broader exposure to firearms, which were perceived as important for survival and protection in a male‐dominated environment, predominantly due to the risk for sexual violence. Following military service, the desire for self‐protection motivated firearm ownership and storage practices. Participants perceived trust as essential to firearm discussions, preferring for family members to initiate such conversations.ConclusionsThis study provides insight into the context in which female veterans' firearm‐related beliefs and practices develop. Interpersonal factors and various lifespan experiences appear to play a vital role in female veterans' firearm access, ownership, and storage practices.

Suicide is a significant public health concern for veterans residing in rural communities. Although various initiatives have been implemented to prevent suicide among veterans, efforts specific to rural veterans remain limited. To aid such efforts, we examined stigma as a potential barrier to community readiness in the implementation of a community-based suicide prevention program for rural veterans. In this qualitative study, community readiness interviews were conducted with 13 participants in a rural community. Themes included lack of awareness regarding veteran suicide, rare discussions of veteran suicide, and suicide-related stigma within the community. Results suggest that prioritizing destigmatization may be particularly important to implementing community-based suicide prevention programming in rural communities. In particular, addressing community misconceptions regarding veteran suicide, while increasing knowledge of the extent to which veteran suicide occurs locally may facilitate increased awareness and thus community readiness to prevent suicide among rural veterans.

Current Armed Forces members are more than twice as likely as members of the general population to die by suicide (Department of Defense [DoD] Task Force on the Prevention of Suicide by Members of the Armed Forces, 2010). Suicide is also the second leading cause of death among individuals in the U.S. Armed Forces (Bryan, Jennings, Jobes, & Bradley, 2012). Although efforts within the DoD and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have focused on understanding how to prevent suicide among Service Members and Veterans (including identifying drivers of suicidal self-directed violence [SDV]), the majority of research has centered on men, due to the fact that men generally are far more likely than women to die by suicide. However, a recent study conducted by the U.S. Department of VA found the suicide rate among women Veterans is approaching that of male Veterans. The 2015 report, which drew data from the VA's Suicide Repository as well as death information from 23 states, indicated that among those who have never served in the military, women (5.2 per 100,000 lives) kill themselves far less than men (20.9 per 100,000 lives; Hoffmire, Kemp, & Bossarte, 2015). However, there is less disparity in suicide rates between Veteran women (28.7 per 100,000 lives) and Veteran men (32.1 per 100,000 lives; Hoffmire et al., 2015).Though it is not clear what is driving the increase in suicide rates among women Veterans, recent findings suggest suicide rates may have more to do with who chooses to join the military than what happened during their service (e.g., deployment, military sexual trauma). The largest study of mental health and resilience ever conducted among military personnel found that men and women who join the military are more likely to have endured difficult childhoods, including emotional and sexual abuse (Kessler et al., 2014). In addition, this study revealed Army personnel had elevated rates of suicide ideation (Nock et al., 2014), suicide attempts (Nock et al., 2014), and various mental health problems (e.g., attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, intermittent explosive disorder, and substance use disorder) prior to enlistment (Kessler et al., 2014).The gender differential in suicide rates becomes even more complex when culture is considered, suggesting that there is far more diversity across cultures than there is between genders. This is potentially problematic considering the U.S. Armed Forces has become increasingly diverse in terms of race and gender composition (Kang et al., 2015). For example, African American men make up 30.7% of the Armed Forces