Article Text
Abstract
Objectives This study investigated whether honor ideology, or a belief that one’s reputation must be defended at all costs, is related to firearms ownership in soldiers.
Methods N=301 active-duty soldiers completed online self-report measures in this cross-sectional study.
Results Honor ideology was higher in soldiers who privately own a firearm compared with those who do not currently own and do not plan to after military separation. Higher honor ideology was correlated with a disbelief that private firearms ownership is related to soldier suicide risk. Levels of honor ideology were equal in soldiers who own a private firearm for protection versus other reasons (eg, hunting, maintaining a collection).
Conclusions Honor ideology may be related to suicide risk through increased likelihood of owning a private firearm and disbelief in private firearm ownership being related to one’s own suicide risk in soldiers. Honor ideology could be relevant to consider when means safety initiatives are developed for active-duty military personnel.
- Firearm
- Military
- Suicide/Self?Harm
Data availability statement
Data are available upon reasonable request. Data sharing must be approved by Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and appropriate military channels.
Statistics from Altmetric.com
Data availability statement
Data are available upon reasonable request. Data sharing must be approved by Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and appropriate military channels.
Footnotes
X @jessicalgerner, @PsychBrownBag
Contributors RT (Guarantor): Study design, analysis, interpretation, drafting, revising. JEB: Study design, analysis, drafting, revising. JLG: Drafting, revising. EAA: Drafting, revising. JO: Data acquisition, interpretation, revising. SED: Interpretation, revising. MLB: Interpretation, revising. MND: Data acquisition, interpretation, revising. MA: Study design, interpretation, revising. CJB: Study design, interpretation, revising. BT: Study design, data acquisition, interpretation, revising.
Funding This work was supported by the US Army Medical and Material Command’s Military Operational Medicine Research Program award number MO220114.
Competing interests None declared.
Patient and public involvement Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.