The statistics speak for themselves. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, in Minnesota, suicide ranks as the second leading cause of death of young people between the ages of 10-34-- only unintentional injuries occur more frequently. Research shows that firearms remain the most commonly used suicide method among youth, regardless of race or gender, accounting for almost two of every three completed suicides.
Although poison and cutting/piercing instruments were used most frequently to attempt suicide, a firearm is the tool most frequently used in completed suicide by both men and women of all ages, and for boys and girls ages 10-141. In 1997, twenty 15-19 year old Minnesotans (18 males and 2 females) committed suicide with a firearm; in 1998 there were 19 (17 males and 2 females).2
Research concludes that the availability of guns in the home, regardless of firearm type or method of safe storage, appears to increase the risk of suicide among adolescents.3 Research maintains that youth would be less likely to substitute an alternative suicide method if guns were not easily accessible. Method substitution may be less likely to occur in adolescents and young adults, possibly because of the prominent role that impulsivity and substance abuse play in youthful suicide. The vast majority (92%) of firearm suicide attempts result in immediate fatality.4 Suicide attempts by other means, such as ingestion of poison or exposure to high quantities of carbon monoxide, allow time for a change of heart and/or medical intervention.
The literature strongly suggests that alcohol is a contributing factor in a large number of suicides for both men and women.5 However, alcohol's role in suicides remains unclear. Between 18 percent and 66 percent of suicide victims have alcohol in their blood at the time of death.6 Suicide victims who had been drinking, but not necessarily intoxicated, were 4.9 times more likely to have used firearms than those who had not been drinking.7
There are two main reasons why little is known about the connection between alcohol and suicide.
- Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) screening is not routine in medical treatment settings, unless the presence of alcohol would alter the course of treatment; and
- Researchers must go back to the autopsy report in suicides to determine if alcohol was in the bloodstream. Currently, this information is not documented on a death certificate.
The Minnesota Institute of Public Health, in partnership with the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office and the Minnesota Department of Health, is in the midst of conducting a six-month feasibility study to collect additional data when someone commits suicide with a firearm. New data will include whether alcohol and/or drugs were in the system at the time of the suicide and the type of firearm used. This will provide valuable new insights about the relationship between suicide and alcohol and other drugs.
1 Hoyert, et. Al. Deaths: Final data for 1997. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Vital Statistics Report. June 30, 1999. 47: 19. 71.
2Minnesota Department of Health, Division of Health Statistics.
3Brent, D.A., et. Al. The Presence and Accessibility of Firearms in the Homes of Adolescent Suicides. Journal of the American Medical Association. 1991. 266: 21. 2989 - 2995.
4Wintemute et. al. The Choice of Weapons in Firearms Suicide. American Journal of Public Health. July, 1977. 78: 7. 284.
5Caces, F. and Harford, T. Time Series Analysis of Alcohol Consumption and Suicide Mortality in the United States, 1934-1987. Journal of Studies on Alcohol. July, 1998. 59. 455-461.
6Roizen, 1998.
7Brent, et. Al. Alcohol, Firearms, and Suicide Among Youth: Temporal trends.