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Dissertation
Occupational access to firearms and firearm-related suicides among US workers
University of Iowa
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
Spring 2025
DOI: 10.25820/etd.007873
Abstract
Firearm-related suicide is an increasing problem in the US and negatively affects specific worker populations including farmers and police officers. However, less is known which occupational groups have the highest rates of firearm-related suicide in the US and how work-related factors including access to firearms at work and job strain contribute to firearm-related suicide. This study used data from the National Violent Death Reporting System, American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Series, Occupational Information Network, and Rural-Urban Continuum Codes to address these gaps. Major occupational groups with the highest firearm-related suicide rates were protective services (males: 21.7 per 100,000 workers; females: 7.9 per 100,000 workers); construction and extraction (males: 25.9 per 100,000 workers; females: 7.2 per 100,000 workers); installation, maintenance, and repair (males: 23.7 per 100,000 workers; females: 6.2 per 100,000 workers); personal care and service (males: 19.7 per 100,000 workers; females: 3.9 per 100,000 workers); farming, fishing, and forestry (males only: 18.3 per 100,000 workers); and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (females only: 4.0 per 100,000 workers). Controlling for age, race/ethnicity, educational level, income, and rurality of residence, workers with access to firearms at work had a higher odds of firearm-related suicide compared to workers without access to firearms at work for male (OR = 2.2; 95% CI, 2.0, 2.5) and female (OR = 3.0; 95% CI, 2.4, 3.8) decedents. The interaction between access to firearms at work and working in a high-strain job (i.e., having high job demands and low job control) led to an increase in odds of firearm-related suicide for male (OR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.9, 3.0) and female (OR = 4.0, 95% CI: 2.4, 6.5) decedents compared to having no access to firearms at work and working in a low-strain job (i.e., having low job demands and high job control). This study suggests that workers in occupations with access to firearms at work have higher rates of firearm-related suicide and having access to firearms at work and working in a high-strain job increases the odds of firearm-related suicide.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Occupational access to firearms and firearm-related suicides among US workers
- Creators
- Victor Allen Soupene
- Contributors
- Carri Casteel (Advisor)Jonathan Davis (Committee Member)Jonathan Platt (Committee Member)Joseph Cavanaugh (Committee Member)Paul Romitti (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Epidemiology
- Date degree season
- Spring 2025
- DOI
- 10.25820/etd.007873
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- Number of pages
- xiii, 327 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright 2024 Victor A Soupene
- Grant note
- Fellowship support was provided by the Heartland Center for Occupational Health and Safety at the University of Iowa through Training Grant No. T42OH008491 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
- Language
- English
- Date submitted
- 12/30/2024
- Description illustrations
- illustrations, tables
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 115-130).
- Public Abstract (ETD)
- Firearm-related suicides are injury deaths that result from injuring oneself using a firearm with the intention of dying. Firearm-related suicides have been increasing in the US, and workers in farming and law enforcement are at higher risk for firearm-related suicide. However, less is known about rates of firearm-related suicide by occupational groups and how job factors including having access to firearms at work and job strain (also known as job stress) contribute to suicide risk. This study sought to identify which worker populations have the highest rates of firearm-related suicide and how access to firearms at work and job strain contribute to the odds of dying from firearm-related suicide. Worker populations with the highest rates of firearm-related suicide were in protective services (males: 21.7 per 100,000 workers; females: 7.9 per 100,000 workers); farming, fishing, and forestry (males only: 18.3 per 100,000 workers); construction and extraction (males: 25.9 per 100,000 workers; females: 7.2 per 100,000 workers); and installation, maintenance, and repair (males: 23.7 per 100,000 workers; females: 6.2 per 100,000 workers). Access to firearms at work increased the odds of dying from firearm-related suicide for male (OR = 2.2; 95% CI, 2.0, 2.5) and female (OR = 3.0; 95% CI, 2.4, 3.8) decedents. Additionally, decedents who worked in a high-strain job (i.e., having high job demands and low job control) and had access to firearms at work had an increased odds of firearm-related suicide for male (OR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.9, 3.0) and female (OR = 4.0, 95% CI: 2.4, 6.5) decedents, compared to having no access to firearms at work and working in a low-strain job (i.e., having low job demands and high job control). These findings suggest that workers in protective services and farming, fishing, and forestry occupations should be the focus of firearm-related suicide prevention strategies.
- Academic Unit
- Epidemiology
- Record Identifier
- 9984831125702771
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