@article{ref1,
title="Openness to church-based firearm safety interventions among Protestant Christian firearm owners",
journal="Public health",
year="2023",
author="Conrick, K. M. and Smith, M. B. and Rooney, L. and Morgan, E. and Rowhani-Rahbar, A. and Moore, M.",
volume="216",
number="",
pages="45-50",
abstract="OBJECTIVES: Protestant Christians are more likely to own firearms and not store them locked/unloaded compared to those from other religions. This study examines how Protestant Christians view the relationship between their religious and firearm beliefs and how that informs openness to church-based firearm safety interventions. STUDY DESIGN: Grounded theory analysis of 17 semi-structured interviews with Protestant Christians. <br><br>METHODS: Interviews, conducted August-October 2020, focused on firearms owned, carrying/discharge/storage behaviors, Christian belief compatibility with firearm ownership, and openness to church-based firearm safety interventions. Audio-recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using grounded theory techniques. <br><br>RESULTS: Participant perspectives varied on firearm ownership motivations and compatibility of Christian values with firearm ownership. Variation in these themes and in openness to church-based firearm safety interventions resulted in clustering of participants into three groups. Group 1 owned firearms for collecting/sporting purposes and intricately connected their Christian identity with firearm ownership, but they were not open to intervention due to perceived high firearm proficiency. Group 2 did not connect their Christian identity to their firearm ownership; some believed these identities were incompatible, so were also not open to intervention. Group 3 owned firearms for protection and believed church, as a community hub, was an excellent location for firearm safety interventions. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: The clustering of participants into groups varying in openness to church-based firearm safety interventions suggests it is feasible to identify Protestant Christian firearm owners open to intervention. This study presents a first step in coupling firearm owner characteristics with community-based, tailored interventions with promise for efficacy.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0033-3506",
doi="10.1016/j.puhe.2022.12.010",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2022.12.010"
}