Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Stein, Michael D.
• Kenney, Shannon R.
• Anderson, Bradley J.
• Bailey, Genie L.

Titel

Loaded: Gun involvement among opioid users

Ist Teil von

• Drug and alcohol dependence, 2018-06, Vol.187, p.205-211

Ort / Verlag

Ireland: Elsevier B.V

Erscheinungsjahr

2018

Quelle

Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts (ASSIA)

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• •Opioid users were more gun-involved than those with alcohol use disorder.•More than half of opioid users reported being present when shots were fired.•About one-third of opioid users owned a gun, carried a gun or had been shot at.•Male opioid users reported greater gun involvement than females.•Past incarceration and poorer self-control were associated with gun involvement. Despite ample research examining how alcohol use relates to gun involvement, little is known about the relationship between opioids and gun involvement. In the current study, we examined correlates of gun possession, accessibility, and related behaviors in an opioid dependent sample. Between October 2016 and April 2017, we surveyed persons entering a brief, inpatient opioid detoxification (n = 386) and 51 contemporaneous persons seeking alcohol detoxification at the same facility in Massachusetts and recorded their lifetime experiences with gun involvement. Participants averaged 33 years of age, 74% were male, 83% were White, and 64% had a history of incarceration. Opioid users had significantly higher rates of gun involvement than persons in alcohol detoxification; for example, 31.3% (vs. 3.9%) had carried a gun for protection, 45.1% (vs. 25.5%) had been threatened with a gun, and 13.8% (vs. 2.0%) had shot at another person. Among persons misusing opioids, male and non-White respondents, and those with a history of incarceration or poorer self-control reported greater gun involvement. Opioid users, both men and women, lead gun-involved lives.