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ARTICLE |

Firearm Access and Suicide FREE

Paul H. Blackman, PhD
[+] Author Affiliations

Edited by Drummond Rennie, MD, Deputy Editor (West), and Bruce B. Dan, MD, Senior Editor.


JAMA. 1992;267(22):3026-3026. doi:10.1001/jama.1992.03480220044014
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To the Editor.  —I would like to make some comments regarding the small-scale study of adolescent suicide in western Pennsylvania,1 even though the basic recommendation—that access to firearms by suicidal teenagers should be restricted by parents—is not controversial.First, projecting from the authors' data, overall gun ownership levels in the households of suicidal (including attempts and completions) and nonsuicidal teenagers in a psychiatric hospital were at most 45%, but hunting license information and other data suggest that household gun ownership levels are significantly higher in the nontroubled teenaged population of western Pennsylvania. Although the study is too small-scale to be conclusive, the suggestion that household gun ownership is positively associated with mentally healthy teenagers is certainly worthy of more study.Second, while the small-scale study—a sampling of 67 suicides over a 1½-year period in the western section of a large and populous state—attempted to find all teen suicides, suicides

REFERENCES

Brent DA, Perper JA, Allman CJ, Moritz GM, Wartella ME, Zelenak JP.  The presence and accessibility of firearms in the homes of adolescent suicides: a case-controlled study. JAMA . 1991;;266:2989-2995.
Rosenberg ML, Davidson LE, Smith JC, et al.  Operational criteria for the determination of suicide. J Forensic Sci . 1988;;33:1445-1456.
Sloan JH, Rivara FP, Reay DT, Ferris JAJ, Kellerman AL.  Firearm regulations and rates of suicide: a comparison of two metropolitan areas. N Engl J Med . 1990;; 322:369-373.
Rich CL, Young JG, Fowler RC, Wagner J, Black NA.  Guns and suicide: possible effects of some specific legislation. Am J Psychiatry . 1990;;147:342-346.

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Brent DA, Perper JA, Allman CJ, Moritz GM, Wartella ME, Zelenak JP.  The presence and accessibility of firearms in the homes of adolescent suicides: a case-controlled study. JAMA . 1991;;266:2989-2995.
Rosenberg ML, Davidson LE, Smith JC, et al.  Operational criteria for the determination of suicide. J Forensic Sci . 1988;;33:1445-1456.
Sloan JH, Rivara FP, Reay DT, Ferris JAJ, Kellerman AL.  Firearm regulations and rates of suicide: a comparison of two metropolitan areas. N Engl J Med . 1990;; 322:369-373.
Rich CL, Young JG, Fowler RC, Wagner J, Black NA.  Guns and suicide: possible effects of some specific legislation. Am J Psychiatry . 1990;;147:342-346.
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