RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Firearm ownership and perceived risk of personal firearm injury
JF Injury Prevention
JO Inj Prev
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP 277
OP 279
DO 10.1136/injuryprev-2020-043869
VO 27
IS 3
A1 Julia P Schleimer
A1 Garen J Wintemute
A1 Nicole Kravitz-Wirtz
YR 2021
UL http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/27/3/277.abstract
AB Despite evidence that firearm access in the home is a strong risk factor for firearm injury, firearms are owned more often for self-protection than for any other reason. In this cross-sectional study, we describe the association between firearm ownership and perceived risk of personal firearm injury using logistic regressions applied to data from the 2018 California Safety and Well-being Survey. Most respondents (57.7%) reported being very/somewhat worried about gun violence happening to them. Compared with non-owners in households without firearms, firearm owners were 60% (adjusted OR (aOR) 0.40, 95% CI: 0.27 to 0.58) less likely to be worried about gun violence happening to them; non-owners living in homes with firearms were 46% (aOR 0.54, 95% CI: 0.33 to 0.88) less likely. This suggests an underestimation of actuarial risk that conflicts with the available evidence, with important implications for public health messaging.