In late 2019, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged. Local and federal governments have enforced social distancing in an effort to slow the spread. Such interventions physically separate people, which is an effective method for preventing the spread of infectious diseases.
However, some interventions may also lead to unintended consequences such as unemployment and social isolation, which are risk factors for suicide.
Indeed, indicators of poor mental health nationwide have been increasing in severity during the pandemic.
This has led to concerns regarding increased suicide risk.
Another consequence of the pandemic is increased firearms sales in the U.S. An estimated 2 million firearms were purchased in March 2020,
and >2.5 million Americans became first-time gun owners during the first 4 months of 2020.
The increase in firearm purchases is concerning given the association between firearms and suicide.
Firearm ownership is robustly associated with suicide (e.g., mental illness
). Suicide is 3 times more likely in homes with firearms,
and the risk is increased for all household members.
Risk for suicide surges by 100-fold immediately after the purchase of a handgun.
In addition, unsafe firearm storage (e.g., loaded and unlocked) increases the risk.
Furthermore, in some populations (e.g., service members), suicidal firearm owners are more likely to store firearms unsafely.
Thus far, it is unknown whether those who have and have not purchased a firearm during COVID-19 differ in terms of suicide risk. One study utilizing a convenience sample (N=1,105) from Amazon's Mechanical Turk conducted in the opening week of May 2020 found few demographic differences between individuals who had and those who had not purchased firearms in the initial months of the pandemic. This survey, however, did not assess for suicidal ideation and included purchases that predated the initial surge of COVID-19 cases.
COVID-19 firearm purchasers may be at particularly heightened risk given their recent purchase and pandemic-related consequences compared with other firearm owners and nonfirearm owners. Furthermore, individuals motivated to purchase firearms during COVID-19 may represent a different group of individuals, perhaps driven by anxiety potentially accompanied by a history of suicidal ideation. In this sense, a cohort effect could exist, resulting in a higher-risk group of individuals driving the firearm purchasing surge, thereby introducing long-term suicide risk into the homes of individuals who otherwise may not have acquired firearms. This study seeks to determine the extent to which those who acquired firearms during COVID-19 differ from those who did not in terms of suicide risk. Exploratory analyses examine whether suicidal ideation is associated with less-safe storage methods more generally and storage changes specifically during COVID-19. Each of these analyses is considered on the basis of lifetime suicidal ideation, past-year suicidal ideation, and past-month suicidal ideation. Given that many of the firearms purchased during COVID-19 will remain in homes after the pandemic, these findings may have implications for firearm safety and suicide prevention efforts beyond the context of the current moment.