Drinkers Likely to Own Handguns

The members of the Harvard Shooting Club may not be the only ones on campus with firearms, according to a recent study from the School of Public Health (HSPH).

HSPH researchers published a study in this month's Journal of American College Health showing that 3.5 of undergraduates surveyed own handguns at school. Students who drink heavily are more likely to keep a firearm in their dorm room, the study said.

Lecturer on Social Psychology Henry Wechsler based his conclusions on about 15,000 undergraduates' responses to a survey, which asked the students about their drinking habits and frequency of reckless behavior caused by drunkenness.

At the suggestion of HSPH colleagues Matthew Miller and David Hemenway, Wechsler decided to include a question about handgun ownership.

The results, published this month, show that 6.8 percent of students who said they had driven under the influence or vandalized property while drink own handguns. And of students who said they needed a drink "first thing in the morning," 12.4 percent own a gun, according to the survey.

Wechsler said he was not surprised by the results pointing out that the findings highlight the connection between high-risk behaviors.

"People who do high risk things also tend to do other high risk things," he said.

But Wechsler said the correlation noted in the study is especially worrisome.

"What has concerned me is that it's the extremes of drinking, being arrested for driving under the influence, getting injured in fights," he said. "These are really high risk people and the fact that they're more likely to own guns is a frightening prospect."

Wechsler said he may repeat the study in two years and add detailed questions about other behaviors that might be linked to heavy drinking.