Viewpoint: Education About Firearms
Viewpoint: Education About Firearms
Baxley F, Miller M
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2006;160:542-547.
Firearms are involved in 10% of childhood deaths. In 2002, the authors surveyed parents and children (420 dyads) presenting to a pediatric and family medicine clinic in Alabama to determine whether parents had an accurate understanding of whether children in households with guns knew where the firearms were located and if the parents knew whether the children had handled the firearms. The children were 5-14 years old, and the parents and children were interviewed separately. The parents were surveyed about: whether firearms were present in the home; the location of the firearms; if the firearm was locked away; if the child knew where the firearm was located; if they thought the child had handled the firearm; and if the parent had reviewed firearm safety issues with the child. The children were asked similar questions along with questions about whether there were toy guns or BB guns, etc., in the house. The responses from families with firearms in the home were used for this report (64% of parents surveyed).
Almost all parents (91%) reported having discussed firearm safety with the children. Only 56% of the families with firearms reported that they were stored locked and unloaded. Thirteen percent stored a firearm loaded, a condition more likely to occur in families who kept the firearm for protection compared with having the firearm for recreational use only. Younger children were as likely as older children to know the storage location of firearms. Male children were much more likely to have handled the firearms at 52% compared with 18% of female children (relative risk 2.84, 95% confidence interval 1.75-4.61). In addition, younger children were as likely to have handled the firearms as were older children.
In households where the parent reported that the child had handled the firearm, 62% kept all household firearms in locked storage compared with 40% of the households who did not feel that the child had handled the firearm. Parents were wrong in their assessment of whether a child knew the storage location of firearms 39% of the time. Parents correctly predicted only 60% of the children who had actually handled firearms.
In households where firearms were kept for protection only, parents correctly predicted whether the child had handled the firearm only 25% of the time. The authors concluded that children contradicted many parents who surmised that their child had not handled household firearms.
The reviewers bring up a very good point in their discussion -- the fact that parents were 50% more likely to store firearms locked if they knew the child had handled the firearm suggests that parental education can lead to improved gun storage practices. Given that firearm-related injuries are in the "top 10" for causes of unintentional injury death in individuals aged 5-24 years (see http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcaus.html), continuing toencourage parents to either not store guns in the house or to store them unloaded and locked would be a worthwhile effort.
Abstract
Baxley F, Miller M
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2006;160:542-547.
Firearms are involved in 10% of childhood deaths. In 2002, the authors surveyed parents and children (420 dyads) presenting to a pediatric and family medicine clinic in Alabama to determine whether parents had an accurate understanding of whether children in households with guns knew where the firearms were located and if the parents knew whether the children had handled the firearms. The children were 5-14 years old, and the parents and children were interviewed separately. The parents were surveyed about: whether firearms were present in the home; the location of the firearms; if the firearm was locked away; if the child knew where the firearm was located; if they thought the child had handled the firearm; and if the parent had reviewed firearm safety issues with the child. The children were asked similar questions along with questions about whether there were toy guns or BB guns, etc., in the house. The responses from families with firearms in the home were used for this report (64% of parents surveyed).
Almost all parents (91%) reported having discussed firearm safety with the children. Only 56% of the families with firearms reported that they were stored locked and unloaded. Thirteen percent stored a firearm loaded, a condition more likely to occur in families who kept the firearm for protection compared with having the firearm for recreational use only. Younger children were as likely as older children to know the storage location of firearms. Male children were much more likely to have handled the firearms at 52% compared with 18% of female children (relative risk 2.84, 95% confidence interval 1.75-4.61). In addition, younger children were as likely to have handled the firearms as were older children.
In households where the parent reported that the child had handled the firearm, 62% kept all household firearms in locked storage compared with 40% of the households who did not feel that the child had handled the firearm. Parents were wrong in their assessment of whether a child knew the storage location of firearms 39% of the time. Parents correctly predicted only 60% of the children who had actually handled firearms.
In households where firearms were kept for protection only, parents correctly predicted whether the child had handled the firearm only 25% of the time. The authors concluded that children contradicted many parents who surmised that their child had not handled household firearms.
The reviewers bring up a very good point in their discussion -- the fact that parents were 50% more likely to store firearms locked if they knew the child had handled the firearm suggests that parental education can lead to improved gun storage practices. Given that firearm-related injuries are in the "top 10" for causes of unintentional injury death in individuals aged 5-24 years (see http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcaus.html), continuing toencourage parents to either not store guns in the house or to store them unloaded and locked would be a worthwhile effort.
Abstract
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