The Missing Piece: A Sociological Autopsy of Firearm Suicide in the United States

Abstract

Social, economic, violence, political, and gun access predictors of suicide and gun suicide were examined via sociological autopsy. The model predicting suicide rates overall had the best results, χ(2) (9, N=50)=5.279 (CMIN, the goodness of fit statistic that represents the minimum discrepancy between the unrestricted sample covariance matrix and the restricted covariance matrix) p=.809, [the goodness of fit statistic that represents the minimum discrepancy between the unrestricted sample covariance matrix and the restricted covariance matrix] indicating an excellent fit of the data and theoretical model. The model explained 76% of the variance in state suicide rates and was a significantly better predictor than one could expect by chance, F(6,43)=22.889, p<.001). All path coefficients were significant predictors of suicide with the exception of violence climate, which was not included. This study contributes to the theoretical knowledge by adding a comprehensive framework of analysis and model useful for prevention.

The Social Autopsy

“…While the psychological autopsy has expanded the investigative scope of suicide death investigation, the approach is best at delineating proximal psychological risk factors that correspond to well-established mental disorders. Building on the psychological autopsy, Scourfield et al (2012) advanced the notion of the sociological autopsy as a way to distinguish sociological variables and life events to explain suicide from an analysis of coroner records (see also Slater 2011).…”

Social Work Practice and Gun Safety in the United States

“…This may be partially due to the fact that many social work researchers are working across sectors with other disciplines, and their scholarship may not be reflected in social work conference abstracts or in social work journals. Some of this research has included firearm-related topics such as sociological autopsy of firearm suicide (Slater, 2011), suicide ideation and intent (Freedenthal, 2008), suicide among the geriatric community (Adamek & Kaplan, 1996;Slovak, Pope, & Brewer, 2016), an editorial piece on gun violence following the Virginia Tech shootings (Jenson, 2007), and an exploration of the etiology of school shootings (Mongan, Hatcher, & Maschi, 2009).…”