August 14, 2006
HICRC study shows parents of teens less likely than parents of children to store guns safely
Our latest article, "Are household firearms stored less safely in homes with adolescents?", published last week in Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, has been receiving a fair amount of national press. The study, based on findings from our 2004 National Firearms Study, found that gun-owning parents whose children were aged 13-17 years were significantly more likely to have an unlocked firearm in the home compared to gun-owning parents whose children were 12 or younger (42 percent vs. 29 percent). This suggests that parents of older children may be less vigilant about keeping firearms stored securely, possibly because they believe teenagers will act responsibly around firearms. Renee M. Johnson, PhD, the study's lead author, explains that "unfortunately, parents of older kids are not basing their decisions about storage on the true risks imposed by firearms: Teenagers are exponentially more likely than younger children to die from firearm injury, especially suicide." Renee did telephone interviews last week with CNN Radio and also with CBS Radio. Click on the links below to see the print coverage:
Washington Post
Forbes.com
View the press release from the Harvard School of Public Health
Washington Post and CNN Report Findings from Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine Study
National news agencies are reporting on the findings from a recently published HICRC study on parental misperceptions about gun storage and children's handling of firearms. Study co-author Dr. Matthew Miller, Associate Director of HICRC, was interviewed by CNN twice during the week of May 29-June 2 about the study and participated in a live online discussion on the Washington Post web site. From the Washington Post coverage:
"A new study involving 201 parents and an equal number of their children has found that 39 percent of kids knew the location of their parents' firearms, while 22 percent said they had handled the weapons, despite their parents' assertions to the contrary. Parents who had talked to their children about gun safety were just as likely to be misinformed about their children's actions as those who said they never had discussed the matter."
In Harm's Way: Guns and Kids (Washington Post)
Recent Articles and Reviews on "Private Guns, Public Health"
JAMA: Books, Journals, New Media
Harvard Magazine: Death by the Barrel
Health Affairs: Prevention Before Blame
New England Journal of Medicine: Book Review
Journal of Emergency Nursing: Media Review
New York Times: A Kind of Firefighting
New York Times Op-Ed: Lock and Load
NPR Morning Edition: Author: Gun Violence Is A Public Health Issue
C-SPAN2 BookTV: Speech at Politics and Prose Bookstore
Please click on the following links for PDF: