Prior research established that a gun in the home does not increase security, but instead increases the risk for household members to die by homicide in the home. Safe storage practices can reduce the incidence of accidental fatalities caused by guns, but it is unknown if strategies short of gun eradication can reduce the incidence of homicide in the home. Furthermore, we do not know if safe firearm storage practices independently and uniformly reduce homicide risk, or if homicide risk is moderated by contextual factors and aspects of lifestyle. This study uses data from the 1993 Mortality Followback Survey and a multidisciplinary conceptual framework to identify what gun storage practices and other lifestyle factors are most strongly associated with risk of homicide in the home. The data contain 314 in-home homicide fatalities. These cases were selected and matched to control (non-homicide) cases according to geographic region of residence, race, sex and age. Using survey responses provided by decedents' next-of-kin regarding gun ownership, the use of trigger locks, other firearm storage practices, and additional contextual and lifestyle risk factors, matched pairs were compared with crude and adjusted odds ratios. The results confirm that the risk of dying by homicide in the home increases if guns are present (odds ratio=2.11; P=.001), and identify how storage practices and lifestyle factors interact to reduce homicide risk.
Learning Objectives: This paper is based on the presenter's dissertation research. The session is an opportunity to: foster discussion and stimulate research on the prevention gun-related homicide; disseminate results to researchers from multiple disciplines
Keywords: Firearms, Homicide
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.