@article{ref1,
title="Public concern about violence, firearms, and the COVID-19 pandemic in California",
journal="JAMA network open",
year="2021",
author="Kravitz-Wirtz, Nicole and Wintemute, Garen J. and Pallin, Rocco and Schleimer, Julia and Aubel, Amanda",
volume="4",
number="1",
pages="e2033484-e2033484",
abstract="IMPORTANCE: Violence is a significant public health problem that has become entwined with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. <br><br>OBJECTIVE: To describe  individuals' concerns regarding violence in the context of the pandemic, experiences  of pandemic-related unfair treatment, prevalence of and reasons for firearm  acquisition, and changes in firearm storage practices due to the pandemic. DESIGN,  SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This survey study used data from the 2020 California  Safety and Well-being Survey, a probability-based internet survey of California  adults conducted from July 14 to 27, 2020. Respondents came from the Ipsos  KnowledgePanel, an online research panel with members selected using address-based  sampling methods. Responses were weighted to be representative of the adult  population of California. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Topics included worry about  violence for oneself before and during the pandemic; concern about violence for  someone else due to a pandemic-related loss; experiences of unfair treatment  attributed to the pandemic; firearm and ammunition acquisition due to the pandemic;  and changes in firearm storage practices due to the pandemic. <br><br>RESULTS: Of 5018  invited panel members, 2870 completed the survey (completion rate, 57%). Among  respondents (52.3% [95% CI, 49.5%-55.0%] women; mean [SD] age, 47.9 [16.9] years;  41.9% [95% CI, 39.3%-44.6%] White individuals), self-reported worry about violence  for oneself was significantly higher during the pandemic for all violence types  except mass shootings, ranging from a 2.8 percentage point increase for robbery  (from 65.5% [95% CI, 62.8%-68.0%] to 68.2% [95% CI, 65.6%-70.7%]; P = .008) to a 5.6  percentage point increase for stray bullet shootings (from 44.5% [95% CI,  41.7%-47.3%] to 50.0% [47.3%-52.8%]; P < .001). The percentage of respondents  concerned that someone they know might intentionally harm themselves was 13.1% (95%  CI, 11.5%-15.3%). Of those, 7.5% (95% CI, 4.5%-12.2%) said it was because the other  person had experienced a pandemic-related loss. An estimated 110 000 individuals  (2.4% [95% CI, 1.1%-5.0%] of firearm owners in the state) acquired a firearm due to  the pandemic, including 47 000 new owners (43.0% [95% CI, 14.8%-76.6%] of those who  had acquired a firearm). Of owners who stored at least 1 firearm in the least secure  way, 6.7% (95% CI, 2.7%-15.6%) said they had adopted this unsecure storage practice  in response to the pandemic. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this analysis of findings  from the 2020 California Safety and Well-being Survey, the COVID-19 pandemic was  associated with increases in self-reported worry about violence for oneself and  others, increased firearm acquisition, and changes in firearm storage practices. Given the impulsive nature of many types of violence, short-term crisis  interventions may be critical for reducing violence-related harm.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="2574-3805",
doi="10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.33484",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.33484"
}