More than a Means: The Relationship between Gun Culture and Suicide

Abstract

Suicide by firearm is a pressing public health concern, directing attention to the relationship between guns and suicide mortality. This article introduces a novel theory of the role of guns in suicide, positing that beyond access, gun culture—the shared social meaning of guns—independently corresponds with higher rates of suicide by firearm among white men. Using data from the American National Election Survey (ANES) 2020 Time Series Study, I empirically measure gun culture at the state level by combining multiple attitudinal measures. Then using Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Underlying Cause of Death data, I show that gun culture predicts firearm suicide mortality for non-Hispanic white men, net of demographic and political state characteristics and of gun ownership and sales, and that this relationship is moderated by past-year non-white migration. Taking a cultural-structural approach to suicide, I theorize that gun culture can exacerbate the psychological harm white men may experience as a result of economic precarity interpreted through the lens of white masculinity and justify violence in response, contributing to suicidality.