NCT03375099

Comparison of Lethal Means Counseling and an Active Control Condition, With and Without Provision of Gun Locks

Comparison of Lethal Means Counseling and an Active Control Condition, With and Without Provision of Gun Locks for Improving Safe Storage of Personal Firearms Among National Guard Personnel

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 232 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Southern Mississippi · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 60 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

In 2013, the National Guard reported a suicide rate that was substantially higher than both the general population and the active duty component of the United States military. The prototypical National Guard suicide decedent appears to be a young male firearm owner not currently deployed who dies using his own gun. Prior research within the military has revealed that soldiers are unlikely to seek out or engage in mental health services. In sum, current best practices in suicide risk assessment are poorly equipped to identify the individuals most likely to die by suicide. This study aims to examine the acceptability, feasibility, and utility of a single lethal means counseling session as part of a suicide prevention approach targeting demographic groups overrepresented in National Guard firearm suicides. 232 firearm-owning National Guard personnel will be randomized to one of four conditions, each of which requires a single 15-25 minute session: (1) lethal means counseling (2) lethal means counseling plus the provision of free gun locks (3) health and stress control condition (4) health and stress control condition plus the provision of free gun locks. The investigators anticipate that those who receive lethal means counseling will subsequently store their personal firearms more safely and report being more willing to store their firearms away from the home during any hypothetical future suicidal crisis. The overarching goal of each hypothesis is to examine the extent to which gun owning young male National Guard personnel at varying levels of suicide risk are willing to engage in means safety.

Detailed description

In 2013, the National Guard reported a suicide rate that was substantially higher than both the general population and the active duty component of the United States military. The prototypical National Guard suicide decedent appears to be a young male firearm owner not currently deployed who dies using his own gun. Prior research within the military has revealed that soldiers are unlikely to seek out or engage in mental health services. In sum, current best practices in suicide risk assessment are poorly equipped to identify the individuals most likely to die by suicide. This study aims to examine the acceptability, feasibility, and utility of a single lethal means counseling session as part of a suicide prevention approach targeting demographic groups overrepresented in National Guard firearm suicides. The study will utilize a 2x2 Factorial Design: Intervention (Lethal Means Counseling, Health and Stress Control) X Gun-Lock (Provided, Not Provided). Participants will be 232 firearm owning National Guard personnel. Lethal Means Counseling comprises education on risk factors for suicide, information on preventative resources, and encouragement to store guns safely and to temporarily remove guns during high risk periods. The Health and Stress Program is designed to control for effects of general mental and physical health education in the active condition. Each condition utilizes a motivational interviewing framework. The overarching goal of each hypothesis is to examine the extent to which gun owning young male National Guard personnel at varying levels of suicide risk are willing to engage in safety planning and find means safety approaches acceptable

Conditions

• Intentional Self-Harm by Other Specified Means

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Lethal Means Counseling	Single session motivational interviewing based interaction aimed to increase the safe storage of firearms in an effort to reduce suicide risk.
BEHAVIORAL	Health and Stress Reduction	Single session motivational interviewing based interaction aimed to reduce vulnerability to negative outcomes across four domains: sleep, diet, exercise, and stress.

Timeline

• Start date: 2017-06-01
• Primary completion: 2020-07-14
• Completion: 2020-07-14
• First posted: 2017-12-15
• Last updated: 2021-05-20

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States