RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Firearm ownership in California: A latent class analysis
JF Injury Prevention
JO Inj Prev
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP 456
OP 462
DO 10.1136/injuryprev-2019-043412
VO 26
IS 5
A1 Julia P Schleimer
A1 Nicole Kravitz-Wirtz
A1 Rocco Pallin
A1 Amanda K Charbonneau
A1 Shani A Buggs
A1 Garen J Wintemute
YR 2020
UL http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/26/5/456.abstract
AB Objective To examine whether firearm ownership and ownership-related motivations and practices can be classified into reasonably distinct types.Methods Cross-sectional data on firearm owners (n=429) were obtained from the 2018 California Safety and Well-Being Survey, a state-representative web-based survey. We conducted a latent class analysis using six self-reported indicators of firearm ownership: (1) number of firearms owned, (2) types of firearms owned, (3) primary reason for firearm ownership, (4) firearm storage, (5) loaded handgun carrying and (6) high-capacity magazine ownership.Results We identified five markedly different classes of firearm ownership. There were two classes of single-firearm owners and three classes of multiple-firearm owners. Only members of one class (9% of owners) were likely to have carried a loaded handgun and to own high-capacity magazines or assault-type weapons. Members of this class were also likely to own 5+ firearms, own for protection against people, and store a firearm in the least secure manner (loaded and unlocked).Conclusion There were distinct classes of firearm ownership in California, and all higher-risk behaviours studied were exhibited disproportionately by members of a single class. This latent class structure, which may help identify higher-risk groups of firearm owners, could inform future research on risk assessment and on focused interventions to reduce firearm injury and death.