New study finds strong link between intimate partner violence and firearm ownership

A new study from the University of California San Diego finds that adults in California and Louisiana who experienced intimate partner violence in the past year — either as victims or perpetrators — are significantly more likely to own firearms and to have purchased a firearm in the past year. 

The paper, published by BMC Central Public Health, features a cross‐sectional analysis of statewide survey data from California and Louisiana adults using data from the 2023 Violence Experiences surveys in both states. 

Key findings include: 

• Individuals reporting past-year intimate partner violence victimization had about three times higher odds of current firearm ownership compared with those not reporting victimization.
• Those reporting intimate partner violence perpetration had nearly 10 times higher odds of firearm ownership.
• Victims of intimate partner violence also showed about three times higher odds of purchasing a firearm in the past year.
• Perpetrators of intimate partner violence showed about five times higher odds of past-year firearm purchase.
• These associations held across both states — California and Louisiana — even though their firearms policy environments differ widely.

“Our findings suggest that both experiencing and perpetrating intimate partner violence are strongly associated with increased rates of firearm ownership and recent firearm purchase,” said Jakana Thomas, a professor of political science at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy and co-author of the report. “The fact that we see these relationships in states with very different firearm policy contexts suggests this is a broader phenomenon, not limited to a particular legislative environment.”

The analysis draws on two large, state-representative online surveys of — 3,560 adults in California (March–May 2023) and 1,081 adults in Louisiana (May–June 2023). 

The surveys asked about past-year intimate partner violence victimization and perpetration and about firearm ownership and recent purchase. The authors adjusted for demographics, mental health symptoms and other covariates.

Findings underscore need to better integrate violence prevention, mental health, and firearm policy

The findings point to an opportunity for more comprehensive prevention strategies — those that address both intimate partner violence and the factors that lead some individuals to acquire firearms in these contexts. 

Though the researchers could not definitively link the causation of relationship violence to firearm purchases, they urge policymakers and practitioners to consider how experiences of relationship violence may drive individuals (victims or perpetrators) toward firearms acquisition.

“Given the high risk of lethal outcomes when firearms and intimate partner violence intersect, these results underscore an urgent need to better integrate violence prevention, mental health and firearm policy,” Thomas said. 

She added that while many victims may seek firearms for protection, the presence of a firearm in a context of intimate partner violence increases the potential for harm rather than safety. 

Thomas and coauthors conclude that these findings suggest that policymakers must rethink how they frame protective gun-ownership narratives in relationships affected by violence, and they must design policies that account for the complex dynamics of intimate partner violence and firearms.

Co-authors of the report include Nicole E. Johns of the Center on Gender Equity and Health at UC San Diego; Annika Li, a doctoral student in education studies at UC San Diego; Gennifer Kully of the Center on Gender Equity and Health at UC San Diego; and Anita Raj, executive director of the Newcomb Institute at Tulane University.

Read the full report: “Intimate Partner Violence and Firearm Purchasing: Cross‐sectional analysis of statewide survey data from California and Louisiana Adults.”