%0 Journal Article
%T Firearm ownership factors and cognitive functioning: a preliminary study
%J Journal of psychiatric research
%D 2024
%A Aase, Darrin M.
%A McManimen, Stephanie
%A Hay, Jarrod
%A Long, Cameron
%A Bryan, Craig J.
%V 175
%N 
%P 200-204
%X Recent studies have suggested that owning a firearm for the purpose of protection and intending to acquire a firearm within the next year are associated with disrupted cognitive-affective processes that may increase firearm suicide risk. Prior studies were limited by self-report measures and would benefit from the utilization of objective indicators of cognitive functioning to clarify associations between firearm ownership and cognitive-affective states. The present study examined objective cognitive performance in a sample of U.S. adults in relation to firearm ownership variables. Based on prior studies, we hypothesized that protective owners and individuals with the intention to acquire a firearm within the next year would demonstrate reduced performance on decision-making, mental flexibility, and emotional bias tasks. A total of 112 participants (61% female, 79% white) completed objective cognitive tasks following completion of a larger survey study through ResearchMatch. <br><br>RESULTS indicated that intention to purchase a firearm within the next year was not associated with cognitive functioning but was associated with an array of heightened psychiatric symptoms. Owning a firearm for the purpose of protection was associated with decreased mental flexibility relative to non-owners, but no differences were seen for decision-making or emotional bias. These findings represent the first attempt to examine underlying objective cognitive processes related to firearm ownership, and implications for future research are discussed.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I Elsevier Publishing
%@ 0022-3956
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.05.026