Black and White Demographic Patterns of Gun Ownership and Suicide, 2021.

Abstract

Objective: We use 2021 data to compare the demographic patterns of adult White and Black gun ownership with their respective race-specific rates of firearm, non-firearm and total suicide, and the percentage of suicides using firearms.

Methods: Data on gun ownership came from a nationally representative sample of over 19,000 respondents to the 2021 National Firearms Survey. Both race-specific gun ownership and suicide rates were stratified by respondent demographics-sex (male, female), census region (Northeast, South, Midwest, West), urbanicity (metropolitan or non-metropolitan), and age (18-29, 30-44, 45-59, 60+).

Results: White adults reported higher rates of gun ownership than did Black adults (33% vs 24%) but a firearm was used in a similar percentage of suicides (56% vs 58%). The demographic patterns of gun ownership of White and Black adults were similar-those least likely to report owning firearms were females, those living in the Northeast, residents of metropolitan areas, and younger adults. But the suicide patterns were somewhat different-whereas suicide rates among White adults were highest among older Whites and among Whites in non-metropolitan areas, suicide rates among Black adults were highest among younger Blacks and similar in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas.

Conclusions: The self-reported levels and patterns of Black gun ownership cannot explain why such a high percentage of Black suicides are firearm suicides or why firearm and total suicide rates of Black adults fall so dramatically with age.