Firearm Behavioral Practices and Suicide Risk in U.S. Army Soldiers and Veterans

In the US, firearms are the most common method of suicide. Veterans bear a disproportionate share of this burden, representing over 69.4% of firearm mediated suicides. Suicide precipitates devastating impacts on service members and veterans’ families and communities, in addition to reducing productivity and burdening the economy. The trauma of firearm mediated violence extends beyond decedents, with a majority of individuals who attempt suicide likely to survive with debilitating injuries, physical disabilities, and chronic mental health problems. Given that veterans are more likely than civilians to own firearms, carry them in public, and use them regularly, there is an unmet need to elucidate the relationship between firearm use and suicide, to identify veterans in need of suicide prevention strategies. Based on preliminary evidence linking gender, geography, personality traits, mental health, lifestyle, age, and other socio-demographic factors to firearm accessibility, we hypothesize that factors beyond firearm accessibility, storage and ownership influence firearm mediated suicide. Our objective is to improve the understanding of motivations for service members and veterans owning firearms, storing them in unsafe conditions and using them to hurt others or themselves. The study will comprise of secondary analyses of data sets obtained from the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS) and the Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers – Longitudinal Study (STARRS-LS), a longitudinal study of over 14,000 soldiers between 2015–2020