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Firearm-related experiences and perceptions among United States male veterans: A qualitative interview study
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Male veterans ages 55–74 comprise a disproportionate number of suicide deaths among United States veterans, for whom a majority of suicides are firearm-related. Little is known about the firearm-related experiences and beliefs of veterans, which could be informative for firearm...
Autores principales: | , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Public Library of Science
2020
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7064196/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32155211 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230135 |
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author | Simonetti, Joseph A. Dorsey Holliman, Brooke Holiday, Ryan Brenner, Lisa A. Monteith, Lindsey L. |
author_facet | Simonetti, Joseph A. Dorsey Holliman, Brooke Holiday, Ryan Brenner, Lisa A. Monteith, Lindsey L. |
author_sort | Simonetti, Joseph A. |
collection | PubMed |
description | BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Male veterans ages 55–74 comprise a disproportionate number of suicide deaths among United States veterans, for whom a majority of suicides are firearm-related. Little is known about the firearm-related experiences and beliefs of veterans, which could be informative for firearm-related lethal means safety interventions. The aim of this qualitative study was to identify themes relevant to developing such interventions among older male veterans. METHODS: We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with seventeen United States male veterans, ages 50–70, who were eligible to receive Veterans Health Administration services, and were current or former firearm owners or users. Transcripts were analyzed via thematic analysis using an inductive approach. RESULTS: Six themes were identified: 1) Firearm experiences were usually facilitated by male family members and occurred at an early age; 2) Safety lessons during early firearm encounters focused on preventing unintentional injuries through safe firearm handling and using “common sense;” 3) Firearms serve an important social function across veterans’ lifespans (e.g., hunting with friends); 4) Veterans perceive firearms as useful for protection; 5) Veterans believe that not everyone should have access to firearms, and some described scenarios in which they acted to limit others’ access during unsafe situations; and 6) Veterans have preferences for who is involved in firearm safety discussions. CONCLUSIONS: We identified themes relevant to developing firearm-specific lethal means safety interventions among older male veterans. Findings suggest potential obstacles (e.g., sociocultural value of firearms) to affecting changes in firearm behaviors, and factors that could potentially facilitate interventions (e.g., family involvement). Consideration of these findings may be important for developing personalized, effective interventions for this population. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-7064196 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2020 |
publisher | Public Library of Science |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-70641962020-03-23 Firearm-related experiences and perceptions among United States male veterans: A qualitative interview study Simonetti, Joseph A. Dorsey Holliman, Brooke Holiday, Ryan Brenner, Lisa A. Monteith, Lindsey L. PLoS One Research Article BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Male veterans ages 55–74 comprise a disproportionate number of suicide deaths among United States veterans, for whom a majority of suicides are firearm-related. Little is known about the firearm-related experiences and beliefs of veterans, which could be informative for firearm-related lethal means safety interventions. The aim of this qualitative study was to identify themes relevant to developing such interventions among older male veterans. METHODS: We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with seventeen United States male veterans, ages 50–70, who were eligible to receive Veterans Health Administration services, and were current or former firearm owners or users. Transcripts were analyzed via thematic analysis using an inductive approach. RESULTS: Six themes were identified: 1) Firearm experiences were usually facilitated by male family members and occurred at an early age; 2) Safety lessons during early firearm encounters focused on preventing unintentional injuries through safe firearm handling and using “common sense;” 3) Firearms serve an important social function across veterans’ lifespans (e.g., hunting with friends); 4) Veterans perceive firearms as useful for protection; 5) Veterans believe that not everyone should have access to firearms, and some described scenarios in which they acted to limit others’ access during unsafe situations; and 6) Veterans have preferences for who is involved in firearm safety discussions. CONCLUSIONS: We identified themes relevant to developing firearm-specific lethal means safety interventions among older male veterans. Findings suggest potential obstacles (e.g., sociocultural value of firearms) to affecting changes in firearm behaviors, and factors that could potentially facilitate interventions (e.g., family involvement). Consideration of these findings may be important for developing personalized, effective interventions for this population. Public Library of Science 2020-03-10 /pmc/articles/PMC7064196/ /pubmed/32155211 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230135 Text en https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) public domain dedication. |
spellingShingle | Research Article Simonetti, Joseph A. Dorsey Holliman, Brooke Holiday, Ryan Brenner, Lisa A. Monteith, Lindsey L. Firearm-related experiences and perceptions among United States male veterans: A qualitative interview study |
title | Firearm-related experiences and perceptions among United States male veterans: A qualitative interview study |
title_full | Firearm-related experiences and perceptions among United States male veterans: A qualitative interview study |
title_fullStr | Firearm-related experiences and perceptions among United States male veterans: A qualitative interview study |
title_full_unstemmed | Firearm-related experiences and perceptions among United States male veterans: A qualitative interview study |
title_short | Firearm-related experiences and perceptions among United States male veterans: A qualitative interview study |
title_sort | firearm-related experiences and perceptions among united states male veterans: a qualitative interview study |
topic | Research Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7064196/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32155211 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230135 |
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