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Survey: 1 in 3 adolescents live in home with firearms

One in three adolescents surveyed reported that they live in a home with a firearm, and 40% of them reported ease of access, according to results published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Joseph A. Simonetti, MD, MPH, of the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle, Wash., and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data derived from the National Comorbidity Survey–Adolescent Supplement to determine the prevalence of self-reported in-home firearm access among adolescents in the United States and better understand its role in mental health risk factors for suicide.

One in three surveyed adolescents (mean age, 15.3 years; n=2,778) reported living in a home with a firearm; 1,089 (40.9%) of those also reported easy access to obtain and shoot that firearm, according to researchers.

Those with access to the firearms were more likely to be older (15.6 years vs. 15.1 years), male (70.1% vs. 50.9%), white (86.6% vs. 78.3%), lived in high-income households (40% vs. 31.8%) and in rural areas (28.1% vs. 22.6%), compared with adolescents without firearm access (P<.05 for all).

Moreover, adolescents with firearm access presented a greater prevalence for lifetime alcohol abuse (10.1% vs. 3.8%, P<.001) and drug abuse (11.4% vs. 6.9%, P<.01), compared with the control group.

Of those surveyed, 51% had at least one lifetime mental health disorder, and 28.9% had at least two lifetime disorders, according to data.

The prevalence of adolescents with mental illness and suicidality was similar between those who did and did not have access to firearms. However, 13% of the weighted study sample reported a lifetime history of suicidal ideation, and 4.1% reported a lifetime history of suicide attempt.

“Given the significant morbidity and mortality associated with firearm injuries among this population, particularly by self-directed violence, further attention to developing and implementing evidence-based strategies to decrease firearm access among adolescents is warranted,” the researchers wrote.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.