Title: Association Between Youth-Focused Firearm Laws and Youth Suicides

Publication Date: August 2004

What does it say?

This study examines the association between youth-focused firearms laws and the incidence of suicide among the youth ages of 14 to 20 years old from the time period of 1976 to 2001.

Between the years 1976 and 2001, there were 63,954 suicides among youth 14 to 21 years of age. The study shows that 62% of these suicides involved the use of a firearm.

The strongest finding was that state CAP laws were associated with an 8.3% reduction rate in suicides of youth between the ages of 14 and 17 years. Were the results to be considered causal, 333 young lives (ages 14 to 17) were saved by CAP laws from 1989 (year of the first state law) to 2001.

How can I use it?

Use this study to inform advocacy on behalf of child access prevention laws and other youth-focused firearm laws.

Citation

Webster, DW, Vernick JS, Zeoli AM, and Manganello JA., “Association Between Youth-Focused Firearm Laws and Youth Suicides,” JAMA, 292(2004):594-601

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