Journal of Interpersonal Violence
1–17
© The Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/0886260516629387
jiv.sagepub.com
Article
The Role of
Interpersonal Conflict
as a Determinant
of Firearm-Related
Homicide–Suicides at
Different Ages
Bindu Kalesan, PhD, MPH,
1
Matthew E. Mobily, MD, MPH,
2
Sowmya Vasan, MS,
2
Michael Siegel, MD, MPH,
3
and Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH
3
Abstract
Although firearm-related homicide–suicides and firearm-related suicides are
tragic and catastrophic events, there is increasing evidence that the two
events have different precipitants and that understanding these precipitants
may help prevention efforts. We aimed to assess the role of interpersonal
conflict (IPC) and recent crises in firearm-related homicide–suicides as
compared with firearm-related suicides alone. We also assessed whether
these differences were consistent across young and old perpetrators.
Using an unmatched case-control study, we compared firearm-related
homicide–suicides andsuicides alone from 2003 to 2011 in the National
Violent Death Registry data to assess the risk associated with IPC and
1
Boston University School of Medicine, MA, USA
2
Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
3
Boston University School of Public Health, MA, USA
Corresponding Author:
Bindu Kalesan, Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, 801
Massachusetts Ave., Room 475, Boston, MA, USA.
Email: kalesan@bu.edu
629387JIV XX X 10.1177/0886260516629387Journal of Interpersonal ViolenceKalesan et al.
research-article 2016