Research & Resources

In this study, researchers examined the association between lagged alcohol use and subsequent handgun carrying in rural areas and examined variation in the association by developmental stages, hypothesizing that the association would be stronger among adolescents than young adults. Researchers used a longitudinal sample of 2,002 adolescents from 12–26 growing up in 12 rural communities in 7 states, with surveys collected from 2004–2019. During adolescence (12–18 years old), those who drank heavily had 1.43 times the odds of subsequent handgun carrying compared to those who did not drink alcohol, and those who consumed alcohol but did not drink heavily had 1.30 times the odds of subsequent handgun carrying compared to those who did not drink. During young adulthood (19–26 years old), associations of alcohol use and heavy drinking were similar to those during adolescence. Overall, findings showed that alcohol use and subsequent handgun carrying—during both adolescence and young adulthood—were associated with having grown up in a rural area, similar to findings in urban areas. Researchers posited that reducing alcohol use could be an important strategy to prevent handgun carrying and firearm-related harm among young people in rural areas.

This paper, “The association of alcohol use and heavy drinking with subsequent handgun carrying among youth from rural areas,” was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and published in The journal of rural health.