Firearms and Adolescent Suicide

Child and Adolescent Suicide in the Broader Area of Athens, Greece: A 13-Year Retrospective Forensic Case-Series Analysis

“…Our study identified a slight male predominance (7 out of 12 cases, 58.3%) among child and adolescent suicide victims, aligning with global trends [ 47 , 48 ]. Research consistently shows that males are more likely to complete suicide, whereas females are more prone to non-lethal attempts and self-harming behaviors.…”

Defining the Full Spectrum of Pediatric Firearm Injury and Death in the United States

“…It is estimated that more than half of United States firearm owners do not store their guns safely, access to firearms in the home increases the risk of adolescent suicides fourfold, safe firearm storage and child access protection laws reduce the risk of suicide and unintentional deaths as most of these firearms are accessed at home. [28][29][30][31] Our data show that when unintentional and self-harm injuries are combined, they account for almost a third of pediatric firearm injuries that safe firearm storage could have potentially prevented. Furthermore, firearms used for assault are often also accessed at home; thus safe firearm storage education and awareness and supporting strong child access protection laws storage is vital for the prevention of pediatric firearm injury and should be strongly promoted at a national level.…”

“…However, when nonfatal data are included, unintentional shootings account for at least 15%. It is estimated that more than half of United States firearm owners do not store their guns safely, access to firearms in the home increases the risk of adolescent suicides fourfold, safe firearm storage and child access protection laws reduce the risk of suicide and unintentional deaths as most of these firearms are accessed at home 28–31. Our data show that when unintentional and self-harm injuries are combined, they account for almost a third of pediatric firearm injuries that safe firearm storage could have potentially prevented.…”

Rural Suicide: A Systematic Review and Recommendations

“…Several articles highlighted differences in rural and nonrural regions regarding indirect-suicide constructs; however, there were no clear patterns in these results. For instance, owning a handgun was a risk for suicide, but only in urban areas (Brent et al, 1993). Moreso, although rural residents may have been more likely to own a long gun than their urban counterparts, the relation was not statistically significant (Brent et al, 1993).…”