Handgun Carrying among White Youth Increasing in the United States: New Evidence from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health 2002-2013

The objective of the present study was to examine trends and correlates of handgun carrying among adolescents ages 12-17 in the United States. Data was derived from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) involving non-Hispanic white, African American, and Hispanic respondents ages 12-17 (n = 197,313) and spanning the years 2002-2013. Logistic regression was used to examine significance of trend year and correlates of previous 12-month handgun carrying. The overall self-reported prevalence of handgun carrying was 3.4%. 

The prevalence of handgun carrying during 2004-2005 was significantly higher for African-Americans (4.39%) compared to non-Hispanic whites (3.03%). However, by 2012-2013, non-Hispanic whites (4.08%) completely diverged and reported carrying handguns significantly more than both African-American (2.96%) and Hispanic (2.82%) youth. 

Male gender and a number of externalizing behaviors were significant correlates of handgun carrying; however, we also found evidence of differential correlates with regard to such factors as drug selling, parental affirmation, and income by race/ethnicity. 

To our knowledge, this is the largest study of handgun carrying among youth in the United States. Findings indicate that although at historically low levels handgun carrying is on the rise but only among non-Hispanic Whites. 

Differential correlates among racial/ethnic groups suggest prevention programming and policies may need modifications depending on group and geographic locale targeted.

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By:  Vaughn MG1, Nelson EJ2, Salas-Wright CP3, DeLisi M4, Qian Z5.

• 1School of Social Work, College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University, Tegeler Hall, 3550 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63103, United States. Electronic address: mvaughn9@slu.edu.
• 2Department of Epidemiology, College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University, 3545 Lafayette Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63104, United States. Electronic address: nelsonej@slu.edu.
• 3School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin, 1925 San Jacinto Blvd D3500, Austin, TX 78712-0358, United States. Electronic address: salaswright@utexas.edu.
• 4Criminal Justice Studies, Iowa State University, 203A East Hall, Ames, IA 50011-1070, United States. Electronic address: delisi@iastate.edu.
• 5Department of Epidemiology, Saint Louis University, Salus Center 473, St. Louis, MO 63104, United States. Electronic address: zqian2@slu.edu. 
• Prev Med. 2016 Apr 7. pii: S0091-7435(16)30048-2. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.03.024

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Guns, Impulsive Angry Behavior & Mental Disorders: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R)

Analyses from the National Comorbidity Study Replication provide the first nationally representative estimates of the co-occurrence of impulsive angry behavior and possessing or carrying a gun among adults with and without certain mental disorders and demographic characteristics. 

The study found that a large number of individuals in the United States self-report patterns of impulsive angry behavior and also possess firearms at home (8.9%) or carry guns outside the home (1.5%). These data document associations of numerous common mental disorders and combinations of angry behavior with gun access. Because only a small proportion of persons with this risky combination have ever been involuntarily hospitalized for a mental health problem, most will not be subject to existing mental health-related legal restrictions on firearms resulting from a history of involuntary commitment. Excluding a large proportion of the general population from gun possession is also not likely to be feasible. 

Behavioral risk-based approaches to firearms restriction, such as expanding the definition of gun-prohibited persons to include those with violent misdemeanor convictions and multiple DUI convictions, could be a more effective public health policy to prevent gun violence in the population.

Below: Estimated number per 100,000 population with gun violence risk indicator and percent ever hospitalized for a mental health problem

Full article at:   http://goo.gl/o1kv77

By:  Swanson JW1, Sampson NA2, Petukhova MV2, Zaslavsky AM2, Appelbaum PS3, Swartz MS1, Kessler RC2.

• 1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.
• 2Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
• 3Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, NY. 
• Behav Sci Law. 2015 Jun;33(2-3):199-212. doi: 10.1002/bsl.2172. Epub 2015 Apr 8.

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Identifying Armed Respondents to Domestic Violence Restraining Orders and Recovering Their Firearms: Process Evaluation of an Initiative in California

Objectives. 

We evaluated a law enforcement initiative to screen respondents to domestic violence restraining orders for firearm ownership or possession and recover their firearms.

Methods. 

The initiative was implemented in San Mateo and Butte counties in California from 2007 through 2010. We used descriptive methods to evaluate the screening process and recovery effort in each county, relying on records for individual cases.

Results. 

Screening relied on an archive of firearm transactions, court records, and petitioner interviews; no single source was adequate. Screening linked 525 respondents (17.7%) in San Mateo County to firearms; 405 firearms were recovered from 119 (22.7%) of them. In Butte County, 88 (31.1%) respondents were linked to firearms; 260 firearms were recovered from 45 (51.1%) of them. Nonrecovery occurred most often when orders were never served or respondents denied having firearms. There were no reports of serious violence or injury.

Conclusions. 
Recovering firearms from persons subject to domestic violence restraining orders is possible. We have identified design and implementation changes that may improve the screening process and the yield from recovery efforts. Larger implementation trials are needed.

Below:  Restraining orders processed, firearms identified, and source of firearms information in (a) San Mateo County, CA, May 2007–June 2010, and (b) Butte County, CA, April 2008–June 2010

Respondents With Firearms Recovered by Source of Information Linking Them to Firearms and Method of Service: San Mateo County, CA, May 2007–June 2010; Butte County, CA, April 2008–June 2010

	Respondents With Firearms Recovered
Characteristics	San Mateo County, No. (%)a	Butte County, No. (%)a
Source of information
Automated Firearms System only	42 (40.8)	8 (44.4)
AFS and declaration	17 (89.7)	7 (77.8)
AFS and contact with petitioner	17 (48.6)	4 (57.1)
Petitioner declaration only	17 (17.7)	6 (35.3)
Declaration and contact with petitioner	0 (0.0)	1 (25.0)
Contact with petitioner only	0 (0.0)	1 (12.5)
All 3 sources	15 (88.2)	5 (62.5)
Other	11 (57.9)	13 (100.0)
Method of serviceb
Civil deputies	43 (44.3)	NA
Detectives or in court	19 (20.4)	NA
Private party	14 (63.6)	NA
Unrecorded	43 (28.9)	NA

Note. AFS = Automated Firearms System; NA = not available. Data are limited to cases in which orders were served.

aPercentages are of all respondents who were linked to firearms by the specified source of information or had restraining orders served by the specified method.

Full article at:   http://goo.gl/8rIhvP

By:  Garen J. Wintemute, MD, MPH, Shannon Frattaroli, PhD, MPH, Barbara E. Claire, Katherine A. Vittes, PhD, MPH, and Daniel W. Webster, ScD, MPH

Garen J. Wintemute and Barbara E. Claire are with the Violence Prevention Research Program, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento. Shannon Frattaroli, Katherine A. Vittes, and Daniel W. Webster are with the Center for Gun Policy and Research, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD.

Corresponding author.

Correspondence should be sent to Garen J. Wintemute, MD, MPH, Violence Prevention Research Program, UC Davis Medical Center, 2315 Stockton Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95817 (e-mail: ude.sivadcu@etumetniwjg). Reprints can be ordered at http://www.ajph.org by clicking the “Reprints” link.

Contributors

G. J. Wintemute drafted the article, obtained funding, and supervised the study. G. J. Wintemute, S. Frattaroli, and B. E. Claire acquired the data. B. E. Claire performed administrative, technical, and material support. All authors designed and developed the study, analyzed and interpreted the data, and critically revised the article for important intellectual content.

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US States with the Highest Rates of Gun Ownership

Via:  https://atlas.qz.com/charts/NJt0vesF

Alcohol Use and Firearm Violence

Although the misuse of firearms is necessary to the occurrence of firearm violence, there are other contributing factors beyond simply firearms themselves that might also be modified to prevent firearm violence. Alcohol is one such key modifiable factor. 

To explore this, we undertook a 40-year (1975-2014) systematic literature review with meta-analysis. One large group of studies showed that over one third of firearm violence decedents had acutely consumed alcohol and over one fourth had heavily consumed alcohol prior to their deaths. 

Another large group of studies showed that alcohol was significantly associated with firearm use as a suicide means. Two controlled studies showed that gun injury after drinking, especially heavy drinking, was statistically significant among self-inflicted firearm injury victims. 

A small group of studies investigated the intersection of alcohol and firearms laws and alcohol outlets and firearm violence. One of these controlled studies found that off-premise outlets selling takeout alcohol were significantly associated with firearm assault. 

Additional controlled, population-level risk factor and intervention studies, including randomized trials of which only 1 was identified, are needed. 

Policies that rezone off-premise alcohol outlets, proscribe blood alcohol levels and enhance penalties for carrying or using firearms while intoxicated, and consider prior drunk driving convictions as a more precise criterion for disqualifying persons from the purchase or possession of firearms deserve further study.

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By:  Branas CC, Han S, Wiebe DJ.

Correspondence to Dr. Charles C. Branas, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 423 Guardian Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (e-mail: cbranas@upenn.edu).

Epidemiol Rev. 2016 Jan 24. pii: mxv010. 

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