According to a study, teens in the United States have easy access to guns. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association recommends that parents should practice safe firearm storage because access increases likelihood of suicide in at-risk teens.
In a study published in JAMA Psychiatry, researchers from the University of Washington hoped to determine if these recommendations were being followed effectively by the community. Led by Joseph Simonetti from University of Washington's School of Medicine's Harborview Medical Center, they used data from the National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement involving 10,123 subjects between the ages of 13 and 18 interviewed from February 2001 to January 2004.
Based on their findings, researchers found that one in every three of the subjects live in a home with a firearm. Out of those living with firearms, 40.9 percent admitted to easy access as well as the ability to shoot the firearm they have access to. These subjects were also likelier to be older (over 15 years old), male, of non-Hispanic origin and living in a high-income household in a rural area.
Additionally, those with firearm access were associated with higher prevalence of alcohol abuse over a lifetime, as well as drug abuse. When multiple variables were factored in, the study also showed subjects with histories of mental illness but without histories of suicide. Those with histories of suicide with or without histories of mental illness were also likelier to report firearm access at home.
"Given that firearms are the second most common means of suicide among adolescents, further attention to developing and implementing evidence-based strategies to decrease firearm access in this age group is warranted," concluded the researchers.
Mood disorders like bipolar disease, dysthymia and depression are major suicide risks factors for teens, with one study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry noting that over 90 percent of adolescents and children who committed suicide suffered from some kind of mental issue. Stressful events in life and poor communication with parents are also additional risk factors, with female teens likelier to attempt suicide. Male teens, however, are likelier to actually go through with the act.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death in teens, with firearms as the method of choice in 42 percent of cases in 2012. While one out of 760 cases of non-firearm injuries lead to death, nearly one in every four teen injuries involving firearms is fatal.
