Adolescents who carry a gun are over six times more likely to attempt suicide with injury compared to their peers, according to a recent study.
The cross-sectional analysis of data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (1991–2021) involving 234,588 U.S. high school students examined the association between externalizing behaviors, violence exposure, and suicidal behaviors. The findings indicate a significant relationship between these factors and the risk of injurious suicide attempts (ISAs).
Adolescents carrying firearms had a significantly increased risk of ISAs. Those carrying a gun had 6.32 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.78, 8.36) times the odds of experiencing an ISA compared with those who did not. Similarly, adolescents involved in physical fights at school had 5.18 (95% CI: 4.69, 5.72) times the odds of an ISA. State-level data from 2021 revealed variations in weapon access; for example, 30.83% of adolescents with ISAs in New York carried weapons at school compared with 6.98% in Montana.
Gender-based analyses showed stronger associations among males. Male adolescents who felt unsafe at school were 12.32 (95% CI: 10.47, 14.50) times more likely to have an ISA compared with 4.84 (95% CI: 4.23, 5.53) times among females. The prevalence of externalizing behaviors, including carrying weapons, increased from 2019 to 2021, particularly among adolescents with ISAs.
Published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the findings indicate potential benefits of exploring interventions such as firearm safety measures, culturally tailored mental health strategies, and violence prevention initiatives, based on the associations observed in the study. State-level policies, including child-access prevention laws and safe firearm storage recommendations, may mitigate risk.
This study examines the relationship between externalizing behaviors, violence exposure, and suicidal behaviors, highlighting findings that suggest public health strategies may help reduce suicide risk among adolescents.
Full disclosures can be found in the published study.