Choice of Weapons in Firearm Suicides

• NCJ Number: 113575
• Journal: American Journal of Public Health Volume: 78 Issue: 7 Dated: (July 1988) Pages: 824-826
• Author(s): G J Wintemute; S P Teret; J F Kraus; M W Wright
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 3 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Free online PDF and HTML access to the American Journal of Public Health is provided by the publisher 24 months after individual issues are released.

Annotation

This study examined 235 suicides in Sacramento County, Calif., during 1983-85 to determine type of firearms used.

Abstract

Its was hypothesized that the choice of firearms by persons committing suicide at home would passively reflect the reported prevalence of firearms by type in households in the region. Data analysis indicated that handguns were used in 69 percent of firearm suicides -- 65 percent for males, 88 percent for females -- and in all such deaths among women ages 35 and older. Rifles and shotguns were used less frequently than expected. (Author abstract modified)