A national analysis of more than 23,000 high school students has identified firearm carrying as a powerful marker of suicide risk among adolescents. The study, published in JAMA Network Open, found that teenagers who reported carrying a firearm during the previous 30 days were nearly four times as likely to have attempted suicide during the preceding year as students who did not report carrying a gun.
The research analyzed data from the 2023 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Combined Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a classroom-based survey conducted across 15 states. The survey tracks behaviors associated with major health risks among high school students, including violence exposure, substance use, mental health challenges, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts. The investigators, led by Michael A. Lindsey of New York University, examined whether recent firearm carrying was associated with suicide attempts regardless of the method involved.
Their findings showed a strong association: adolescents who acknowledged carrying a firearm had 3.72 times the odds of reporting a suicide attempt in the previous 12 months compared with non-carriers. The relationship remained evident after the researchers accounted for grade level, race, ethnicity and sex, suggesting that firearm carrying may identify a broad and particularly vulnerable population rather than reflecting risk concentrated in one demographic group.
The study does not establish that carrying a gun directly causes suicidal behavior. Because the analysis used survey data collected at one point in time, it cannot determine which came first—firearm carrying, suicidal behavior or other underlying factors. However, the researchers argue that carrying a firearm may combine several pathways to danger. It can provide immediate access to a highly lethal means during a rapidly developing crisis, signal involvement in broader risk-taking or externalizing behaviors, and reflect exposure to violence, trauma or unsafe environments.
The authors also connect their findings to the psychological concept of “acquired capability” for suicide. Repeated exposure to danger, violence or the possibility of death may reduce fear responses and increase fearlessness about death. For adolescents, whose emotions and decisions can shift rapidly, this combination may be especially consequential. The researchers note that, for many people, the transition from suicidal thoughts to an attempt can occur within a short period, leaving little time for intervention once a crisis begins.
The association appeared particularly pronounced among several racial and ethnic groups. More than 35 percent of non-Hispanic Black adolescents who reported carrying a firearm also reported a suicide attempt during the preceding 12 months. The corresponding figures were approximately 30 percent among Hispanic firearm carriers and 21 percent among White firearm carriers. Lindsey said the results carry special urgency amid a sharp increase in firearm suicide rates among Black youth, which have risen by 245 percent since 2014, according to the study.
The broader national context has also changed. Youth suicide rates declined for much of the period beginning in 1981, but the trend reversed around 2015. The increase has been especially rapid among Black and Latinx adolescents, while White youth—who historically recorded the highest suicide rates among racial groups—have experienced a 6 percent decline since 2015. Firearms have remained the leading means of suicide among young people since 2020, making access to guns a central issue in prevention efforts.
The researchers examined whether the strength of state firearm laws influenced the relationship between gun carrying and suicide risk. Using Everytown for Gun Safety’s 2023 state-level assessment of firearm policies, they found that stronger laws appeared to be modestly protective for young people. The evidence was not sufficiently clear, however, to determine how specific state policies affected the risk of suicide attempts among adolescent firearm carriers. Differences in local environments, enforcement, firearm access and patterns of violence may complicate comparisons between states.
The study’s authors recommend that clinicians, school counselors and pediatric providers routinely ask adolescents about firearm carrying when assessing suicide risk. They also support lethal-means counseling for families who own firearms, including conversations about preventing unsupervised access and storing guns securely. In addition, they call for policies addressing child access to firearms, safe storage and age restrictions, alongside broader investments intended to reduce exposure to violence, economic instability and unequal access to mental health care. The investigators emphasize that firearm carrying should be treated not simply as a question of weapon possession, but as a salient warning sign that may identify teenagers facing multiple, overlapping threats to their safety.
Article Title: Carrying Firearms and Suicide Risk Among Adolescents
News Publication Date: 5-Aug-2026
Web References: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.26924
References: JAMA Network Open, DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.26924; 2023 CDC Combined Youth Risk Behavior Survey; Everytown for Gun Safety 2023 firearm-law strength rankings
Keywords: adolescent mental health, youth suicide, firearm carrying, suicide prevention, high school students, CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey, firearm access, public health, JAMA Network Open
