Socio-demographic and Geographic Patterns of Firearm Suicide in the United States, 1989-1993

Publication Date: January 1999

Publisher: Health and Place

Author(s): M.S. Kaplan; O. Geling

Research Area:

Keywords: firearms; suicide; geographic patterns

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

This study identified the sociodemographic and geographic patterns of using firearms to commit suicide in the United States. Data from the Mortality Detail Files (1989–1993) were analyzed.

Widowed men and married women had the highest odds of using firearms. The odds were highest among those without college education, in nonmetropolitan areas and in the East South Central and West South Central geographic divisions. The likelihood of using firearms to commit suicide varies significantly across sociodemographic and geographic subgroups of the U.S. population and parallels patterns of gun ownership. The results of this study suggest that regional cultural factors play an important role in accounting for the differential rates in suicidal behavior involving firearms.