Assessment of Latent Subgroups with Suicidal Ideation and Suicidal Behavior among Gun Owners and Non-Gun Owners in the US

Abstract

Importance: Firearm ownership is associated with increased risk for suicide. Objective: To examine patterns of associations among suicidal thoughts and behaviors among gun owners and non-gun owners in the US. Design, Setting, and Participants: In this survey study, cross-sectional online survey data were collected from March to April 2020 from US adults recruited via Qualtrics Panels. Quota sampling was used to approximate US census demographics. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcomes were past-year passive suicidal ideation, active suicidal ideation, suicidal planning, suicidal behaviors, and nonsuicidal self-injury as measured by items from the Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview-Revised (SITBI-R). Simple latent class analysis (LCA) was used to assign participants to separate classes based on posterior probabilities, and multigroup LCA was used to assess whether the same construct was measured in specified groups. Results: Of 65079 adults invited to participate, 10625 (16.3%) completed the survey; 9153 responded "yes" or "no" to the firearm ownership item and were included in the analysis. Of these 9153 respondents (4695 [51.3%] male; mean [SD] age, 46.7 [16.8] years), 2773 (30.3%) reported owning a gun and 6380 (69.7%) reported not owning a gun. Compared with non-gun owners, gun owners were more likely to be male (1779 [64.2%] vs 2916 [45.7%]; χ21, 263.3; P