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Firearm Ownership in High-Conflict Families: Differences According to State Laws Restricting Firearms to Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence Offenders

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Abstract

This study examines the association between state laws that prohibit firearm ownership for offenders convicted of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence (MCDV) and firearm ownership in two-parent families with high-conflict male partners with arrest histories. Mixed effects logistic regression models applied to data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth cohort (n = 5350) determined that living in a state with laws that prohibited firearm ownership for convicted MCDV offenders decreased the likelihood of firearm ownership among families with high-conflict males by 62%. The length of the time limit on firearm prohibition was correlated with incremental decreases in firearm ownership in such families, with the probability of firearm ownership among families with high-conflict males decreasing from 30% in states with no MCDV laws restricting access from firearms to 12% in states with permanent prohibition on firearm ownership. These findings have significance for public health policy aimed at decreasing intimate-partner homicide.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (F32 HD086994-01, PI: Kate Prickett, University of Chicago; R24 HD42849, PI: Mark Hayward, University of Texas at Austin). Opinions reflect those of the authors and not necessarily those of the granting agency.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, The School of Social Sciences, The University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand

    Kate C. Prickett

  2. Département de Psychoéducation, Université de Sherbrooke, Pavillon A7, 2500 Boul. De L’Université, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada

    Alexa Martin-Storey

  3. Department of Sociology and The Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin, 305 E. 23rd Street, Stop G1800, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Robert Crosnoe

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  1. Kate C. Prickett
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  2. Alexa Martin-Storey
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Correspondence to Kate C. Prickett.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 4 Odds ratios from mixed effects logistic regression predicting household firearm ownership (n = 5350; group n = 51)
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Fig. 3
figure 3

Sample selection exclusion criteria resulting in analytical sample of n = 5350

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Fig. 4
figure 4

Categorizing high-conflict families with arrest histories

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Prickett, K.C., Martin-Storey, A. & Crosnoe, R. Firearm Ownership in High-Conflict Families: Differences According to State Laws Restricting Firearms to Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence Offenders. J Fam Viol 33, 297–313 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-018-9966-3

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