Many in law enforcement own firearms. They are more likely to have suicidal thoughts

Rutgers researchers focus on firearm ownership and storage among law enforcement officers

2023-10-25

(Press-News.org) Law enforcement officers in the United States own firearms at high rates and rarely engage in secure firearm storage, which could increase their risk for suicide, according to a Rutgers study.

The researchers, whose study appears in the journal Injury Prevention, examined data from 369 law enforcement officers in the U.S. Information about firearm ownership, storage, suicide risk and demographics were included in the present study.

Overall, 70.5 percent of law enforcement officers report owning a firearm. The most common type of firearms owned were handguns (79.7 percent) followed by shotguns (61.1 percent) and rifles (57.5 percent). A sharp majority, 78.9 percent, reported owning more than one type of firearm.

Law enforcement officers reported low rates of engagement in secure firearm storage. The most common type of secure storage methods used were gun safes (39.8 percent), followed by locking devices such as trigger or cable locks (31.2 percent). According to the study, 57.6 percent of the sample reported lifetime thoughts of suicide and those with lifetime thoughts of suicide were more likely to own firearms.

“Historically, law enforcement officers have had higher rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors,” said Allison Bond, clinical psychology doctoral candidate with the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center at Rutgers and the first author of the study. “We found that not only are they experiencing high rates of suicidal thoughts, but those who have had suicidal thoughts are more likely to own firearms, and are often not engaging in secure storage. This is concerning because access to a firearm increases the risk for several types of firearm related injuries and death, including suicide; and this risk is even higher when a firearm is not stored securely. We need to work with law enforcement officers to determine ways to increase secure storage.”

Previous research has found that law enforcement officers have high rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors than the general population, and a high percentage of their suicide deaths result from firearms.

“If law enforcement officers experiencing suicidal thoughts are more likely to have quick access to an unsecured firearm, there is a greater risk that, in their worst moment, they will reach for and use by far the most lethal method for suicide,” said Michael Anestis, executive director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center and an associate professor at Rutgers School of Public Health.

Anestis, the senior author of the study, added, “We do not always know when an officer is suffering with suicidal thoughts, so we need to work with that community to foster a general tendency to store firearms securely by default so that, if they one day find themselves thinking about suicide, it will be more difficult for them to make a deadly decision in response to those thoughts.”

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Rider on the storm: Shearwater seabird catches an 11 hour ride over 1,000 miles in a typhoon

2023-10-25

New research from Japan published in the Ecological Society of America’s journal Ecology suggests that increasingly severe weather driven by climate change may push oceangoing seabirds to their limits. In August 2019, Kozue Shiomi, a seabird biologist at Tohoku University, attached GPS bio-loggers to 14 adult streaked shearwaters (Calonectris leucomelas) from a nesting colony on Mikurajima, a small island near Tokyo, as part of a study on the species homing behavior. In September of that same year, an exceptionally powerful storm, Typhoon Faxai, barreled into southeastern Japan, causing considerable physical damage to the mainland. But the typhoon, ...

Morris Animal Foundation-backed research illuminates path to sihek revival

2023-10-25

DENVER/Oct. 25, 2023 – A recently published paper in Animal Conservation provides crucial insights into the health of sihek, a species eradicated from its native habitat and that may now face threats in captivity. The latest data underscores a stark gender disparity, revealing that female sihek are at greater risk for death and disease than their male counterparts. As part of an ongoing Morris Animal Foundation-funded study, researchers at The Zoological Society ...

Can insomnia treatment reduce cardiovascular disease risks? $3 million funds study to find out

2023-10-25

INDIANAPOLIS — It’s no secret that a good night’s rest can do wonders for one’s health, but those who struggle with insomnia have a nearly 50% increased risk of cardiovascular disease. One scientist in the School of Science at IUPUI will spend the next five years trying to figure out how those risks can be reduced. Jesse Stewart, a professor of psychology at the school, has received a five-year, $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for a project named the Strengthening Hearts ...

Higher levels of triglycerides linked to lower risk of dementia

2023-10-25

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2023 MINNEAPOLIS – Older people who have higher levels of triglycerides, a type of fat, may have a lower risk of dementia and a slower cognitive decline over time compared to people who have lower levels, according to new research published in the October 25, 2023, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. While the study found a link, it does not prove that higher levels of triglycerides prevent dementia. Triglycerides are fatty acids and are the most common type of fat in the blood. Triglycerides contribute ...

Childhood trauma linked to headaches in adulthood

2023-10-25

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2023 MINNEAPOLIS – People who have experienced traumatic events in childhood such as abuse, neglect or household dysfunction may be more likely to experience headache disorders as adults, according to a meta-analysis published in the October 25, 2023, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. This research does not prove that such experiences cause headaches; it only shows an association. “Traumatic events in childhood can have ...

Brittle star fossils found in South Africa are over 410 million years old, the oldest known examples who lived at high latitude

2023-10-25

Brittle star fossils found in South Africa are over 410 million years old, the oldest known examples who lived at high latitude ### Article URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0292636 Article Title: Earliest known ophiuroids from high palaeolatitude, southern Gondwana, recovered from the Pragian to earliest Emsian Baviaanskloof Formation (Table Mountain Group, Cape Supergroup) South Africa Author Countries: South Africa, Luxembourg Funding: RWG: Millennium Trust, South Africa (no number). https://www.mtrust.co.za ...

New distractibility “d factor” may be linked with ADHD

2023-10-25

In a study of different types of distraction involving more than 1,000 participants, researchers statistically derived a novel measure—dubbed the “d factor”—that could represent a person’s general tendency towards distraction and may be linked with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Han Zhang of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on October 25, 2023. Prior research has explored various types of distraction, such as external stimulations, repetitive ...

Deepfake videos during Russian invasion of Ukraine could undermine trust

2023-10-25

A new study explores themes in Twitter discussions of deepfake videos related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, highlighting the potential for real videos to be mistaken for deepfakes and for deepfakes to fuel conspiracy theories. John Twomey of University College Cork, Ireland, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on October 25, 2023. Created using artificial intelligence, deepfake videos typically feature a person saying and doing things they never actually did in real life. Deepfake technology has advanced considerably, sparking concerns about its potential harms. ...

In Prehispanic Cancun, immigrants were treated just like Maya locals

2023-10-25

Ancient people immigrated to Cancun Island and were treated just like locals, according to a study published October 25, 2023 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Andrea Cucina of the Autonomous University of Yucatan, Mexico and colleagues. The Late Postclassic (AD 1200-1500) in the northern Maya lowlands was a period of major changes, including the development of many settlements along the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, influenced in part by expanded trade routes. Previous research has found that these settlements were home to many non-local individuals, but it remains unclear whether these people were treated as “foreigners” ...

Climate change likely impacted human populations in the Neolithic and Bronze Age

2023-10-25

Human populations in Neolithic Europe fluctuated with changing climates, according to a study published October 25, 2023 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Ralph Großmann of Kiel University, Germany and colleagues. The archaeological record is a valuable resource for exploring the relationship between humans and the environment, particularly how each is affected by the other. In this study, researchers examined Central European regions rich in archaeological remains and geologic sources of climate data, using these resources to identify correlations between human population trends and climate change. The ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

SPHERE’s debris disk gallery: tell-tale signs of dust and small bodies in distant solar systems

Terrestrial biodiversity grows with tree cover in agricultural landscapes

Experts call for AED placement on every commercial aircraft to boost in-flight cardiac arrest survival rates from 6% to up to 70%

“Proton‑iodine” regulation of protonated polyaniline catalyst for high‑performance electrolytic Zn‑I2 batteries

Directional three‑dimensional macroporous carbon foams decorated with WC1−x nanoparticles derived from salting‑out protein assemblies for highly effective electromagnetic absorption