Gun Culture: Mapping a Peculiar Preference for Firearms in the Commission of Suicide

Abstract

Research has shown how honor cultures promote aggression against others (e.g., homicide) and the self (e.g., suicide). Two studies examine the connection between honor and a predilection for guns in the commission of suicide. Study 1 shows that Whites living in honor states are especially likely to use guns to commit suicide, controlling for gun accessibility. Study 2 reveals that a “gun access gap” in honor states—a positive difference between the proportion of all suicides that involve a gun and the gun ownership rate—predicts outcomes linked previously to honor cultures: homicides and accidental deaths.