The relationship between prior suicidality, criminal behavior, and current household gun access among adolescents: Does race moderate the relationship?

Abstract

Prior empirical research has generally focused on suicidality or criminal behavior as possible correlates of household gun access among adolescents but not both, and this extant research has also not generally addressed whether race or ethnicity moderates these possible correlates even though gun ownership, violence, and suicide in the U.S. are especially defined by race. This research uses data from the first (1994 and 1995; n = 16,525) and second (1996; n = 12,016) in-home waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to test two hypotheses which conceptually assert that the effects of prior suicidality and criminal behavior on home gun access vary by race. Consistent with the existing research, the current findings indicate that prior criminal behavior is associated with home gun access, and the magnitude of this empirical association is similar for White, Black, and Hispanic adolescents. In contrast, the current findings indicate that the effect of prior suicidality is moderated by race in that a prior suicide attempt is more positively associated with home gun access among Black relative to White adolescents, an empirical finding that commands greater attention especially given the recent rise in gun suicides among Black children and teens in the U.S. The implications of the current findings for future research and policy are discussed.