Children and Firearms in the Home: A Southwestern Ohio Ambulatory Research Network (SOAR-Net) Study

Abstract

Background:To ascertain the prevalence of gun ownership, gun safety education, and parental attitudes on gun counseling in a Midwestern sample.Methods: Parents seeking care at participating practices in the Southwestern Ohio Ambulatory Research Network were recruited to complete a survey about gun ownership, gun safety education, and gun counseling attitudes. Attitudes and beliefs were compared between gun owners and non-gun owners.Results: Twenty-four percent of respondents had at least 1 gun in the home. Military families were more likely to own a gun than civilian families (28% vs 18%, P ‫؍‬ .001). Fifty-two percent of sample children have received gun safety education. Eight percent indicated that a physician had asked about guns or discussed gun safety issues during an office visit. A majority of parents indicated that physicians should ask about guns in the home (69%) and advise parents on safe storage (75%), but they should not advise parents to remove guns from the home (12% of gun owners, 42% of non-gun owners).Conclusions: Despite the morbidity and mortality associated with guns, physicians in this study do not seem to be addressing this risk with families. A majority of gun owners do not agree that physicians should counsel the removal of guns from the home but agree that they should discuss safe gun storage information.

Recent psychopathology, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts in households with and without firearms: findings from the National Comorbidity Study Replication

“…This finding may be due to the infrequency with which patients in our study who were suffering from a psychiatric disorder (but whose actions had not escalated to the threshold of a suicide attempt) received counselling in a medical setting to remove firearms from their homes, a possibility consistent with findings in previous work but to which our data do not speak 31 32…”

Prevalence and Correlates of Firearm Ownership in the Homes of Fifth Graders

“…Firearms are present in the homes of between one fifth and one third of American children and adolescents (DuRant et al, 2007; Forbis et al, 2007; Schuster, Franke, Bastian, Sor, & Halfon, 2000; Sorenson & Vittes, 2004). Analyzing data from the 1994 National Health Interview Survey and its Year 2000 objectives supplement, Schuster and colleagues found that 35% of homes with children younger than age 18 years contained at least one firearm (Schuster et al, 2000); more recently, Coyne-Beasley, Miles, Lees, Proescholdbell, and Ford (2012) reported that 40% of North Carolina homes with children between the ages 0 and 18 surveyed in 2008 contained at least one firearm.…”

What Are Parents Willing to Discuss with Their Pediatrician About Firearm Safety? A Parental Survey

“…The 29-item self-report questionnaire, developed by the study team, was based on the literature and previous instruments (with permission),[7, 8] and was modified after review by participating physicians and pilot testing with 7 mothers. Parents were asked if they thought pediatricians should inquire about household firearms, provide safe storage advice, and selected from a list of options to indicate their reaction to advice from a pediatrician not to have firearms in the house for child safety.…”