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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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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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-018-9966-3