Who military service members see as credible to discuss secure firearm storage for suicide prevention

Safe and secure gun storage– keeping a gun unloaded, locked and different from ammo– can help in reducing the danger for suicide, however numerous military service members save their guns unsecured.

In a brand-new Rutgers Health research study, scientists asked firearm-owning service members who they consider as the most trustworthy sources to go over safe and secure gun storage for suicide avoidance

The scientists, whose research study appears in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behaviorsanalyzed information from 719 U.S. service members.

“There is no single voice that will interest all firearm-owning service members, however specific groups are extensively viewed as trustworthy total and our outcomes offer a sense of how to finest reach various groups of service members to successfully motivate them to keep their guns more safely,” stated Michael Anestis, executive director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center and senior author of the research study.

In general, these service members stated the most reliable sources to go over safe gun storage for suicide avoidance were police officers military service members and veterans. The least reliable sources were celebs and casual associates. Gun lobbying groups, gun dealerships and other groups typically connected with gun ownership and culture (e.g., searching and outside publications) were not viewed as especially reputable sources. These findings corresponded for those who determined as white.

Amongst individuals who determined as Black, police officers, veterans and members of the National Rifle Association were considered to be the most reliable. American Indian and Alaskan Native people ranked gun produces, service members and veterans as the most trustworthy sources. Asian people ranked member of the family, service members and veterans as extremely reputable sources.

“Many military service members do not participate in protected gun storagewhich might be adding to the high rates of gun suicide within this population,” stated Allison Bond, a scientific psychology doctoral prospect with the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center at Rutgers and lead author of the research study.

“To assist increase protected storage, messages must utilize trustworthy sources like police officers,” Bond stated. “Our outcomes reveal that there can’t be a one-size fits all technique to protect storage messaging, and we require to promote sources and voices that are trustworthy to those from all racial backgrounds.”

More info:
Allison E. Bond et al, Determining who military service members consider trustworthy to go over gun security for suicide avoidance, Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior (2024 ). DOI: 10.1111/ sltb.13070