53. Parental misperceptions about their children and guns.
At family practice clinics in rural Alabama, over 400 parents were separated from their children, and both were asked questions about guns in the home.
Major findings: Over 1/3 of parents who reported that their son had not handled a household gun were contradicted by the child.
Publication: Baxley, Frances; Miller, Matthew. “Parental Misperceptions about their Children and Firearms” Annals of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. 2006; 160:542-47.
54. Public misperceptions about whether means matter for suicide.
Over 2,700 respondents to a national random-digit-dial telephone survey were asked to estimate how many of the more than 1,000 people who had jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge would have gone on to commit suicide some other way if an effective suicide barrier had been installed.
Major findings: Over 1/3 of respondents estimated that none of the suicides could have been prevented. Respondents most likely to believe that no one could have been saved were cigarette smokers and gun owners.
Publication: Miller, Matthew; Azrael, Deborah; Hemenway, David. “Belief in the Inevitability of Suicide: Results from a National Survey.” Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior. 2006; 36:1-11.
92. Students wildly overestimate the level of peer gun carrying; those who overestimate the most are more likely to carry
Data from high school students in Boston find that, as with smoking, drinking and sex, students widely overestimate the amount of gun carrying by their peers. Since most students carry for protection, this overestimate appears to lead to more gun carrying.
Publication: Hemenway D, Vriniotis M, Johnson RM, Miller M, Azrael D. Gun carrying by high school students in Boston, MA: does overestimation of peer gun carrying matter? Journal of Adolescence. on line before print: doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.11.008
