Substance use and firearm access among college freshmen

Abstract

Objective

Examine the proportion of students with rapid firearm access and associations with recent alcohol and marijuana use.

Participants

Cross-sectional data from college freshmen (n = 183) in 2020 who participated in the Mason: Health Starts Here study.

Methods

Using logistic regression, associations were examined between past 30-day substance use and access to firearms within 15-min.

Results

More than 10% of students could rapidly access a firearm, 53% of whom were current binge drinkers, compared to 13% of those who could not rapidly access firearms. Non-Hispanic White students (AOR = 4.1, 95%CI = 1.3,12.7) and past 30-day binge drinkers (AOR = 6.4, 95%CI = 2.1,19.7) had greater odds of having rapid firearm access. Age, sex, and past 30-day marijuana use were not associated with rapid access.

Conclusions

A notable proportion of students had rapid firearm access, which was strongly associated with recent binge drinking. Campus prevention programs should consider how their alcohol and firearm policies could be enhanced to prevent violence/self-harm.

Keywords:

• Gun access
• heavy episodic drinking
• university

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States of America and received approval from the George Mason University.

Additional information

Funding

Funding for the Mason: Health Starts Here cohort study was provided by the Institute for Biohealth Innovation of George Mason University. The funder had no role in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, nor in writing this manuscript.