Parental Perceptions of Their Children's Access to Household Firearms.

OBJECTIVES: To provide a nationally representative estimate of the proportion of gun owners who report a child has independent access to one of their guns, and to describe characteristics of these gun owners relative to other gun-owning parents. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of online survey data collected in 2019 from a nationally representative sample of US adults in households with firearms (n = 4030, response 65%). The sample comprised gun-owning respondents living in homes with children (n = 689) who were asked questions about their firearms, including how they were stored, and about who other than themselves had access to their guns: "If you were not there, who in your household could get one of your guns (and load it if it is not loaded already) if they needed to?" RESULTS: Twelve percent of US gun owners in homes with children report that a child has independent access to one of their guns (about one-fifth of those having children under age 12 years only). Gun owners who reported child access were more likely than those who reported no child access to store guns unlocked and loaded, but still one-fifth of those reporting access stored all guns locked and unloaded. CONCLUSIONS: We find that more than 10% of gun owners with children report that a child can independently access one of their guns, including parents who store all guns locked and unloaded suggesting that guidance to parents should focus on access in addition to firearm storage.

The Relationship Between Parents' Reported Storage of Firearms and Their Children's Perceived Access to Firearms: A Safety Disconnect.

Locked-up and unloaded firearm storage is a tenet of injury prevention campaigns to decrease children's access to firearms. This study cohort describes the reported presence of, storage mechanisms for, and children's perceived access to firearms. Parent-child dyads (n = 297) were recruited from pediatric emergency departments in Atlanta, GA. Gun owners were 25% of cohort; 53% reported storing some firearms insecurely. Gun owners were more likely to believe their child could access a firearm versus non-gun owners (11% vs 3%). Children of gun owners versus non-gun owners indicated increased ability to acquire a gun (14% vs 4%). Fifty-nine percent of children could not identify a real versus toy gun in a picture. This study highlights a plurality of parents storing firearms insecurely with a significant portion of children reporting gun access and demonstrating inability to recognize actual guns. This disconnect points to the importance of public health interventions to decrease access to firearms in this vulnerable population.

Social workers' determination of when children's access or potential access to loaded firearms constitutes child neglect.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric firearm-related deaths and injuries are a serious societal problem. Our study's objective was to determine social workers' assessment of child neglect with respect to access or potential access to a loaded firearm. METHODS: Study invitations were delivered by e-mail to National Association of Social Workers members designating their practice as "Child/Family Welfare" (N = 4933) in October/November, 2015. Demographics, attitudes regarding child access prevention (CAP) laws, and the ages (4-14 years) at which social workers deemed several scenarios as child neglect were determined. Descriptive (frequencies) and bivariate (chi square) analyses were performed. RESULTS: 485 of 4933 social workers completed the survey (9.8%). Of these, most agreed or strongly agreed (≥92%) there should be laws in place requiring firearms to be stored so unwanted access cannot be obtained by a child, even up to 15 years of age. In a scenario where a child had potential access to a loaded firearm, but never gained access, the presence of a CAP law pertinent to the child in the scenario increased the likelihood respondents would find the situation child neglect for all ages (p < 0.0001 for each age comparison). Moreover, 10.3% felt they could not deem the situation child neglect without the presence of a CAP law, no matter the age of the child. In a scenario where a child gained access to a loaded firearm, the vast majority found this to be child neglect (82-99%, with the percentage varying by the age of the child involved), regardless of the presence or absence of a CAP law and/or an injury being sustained. In addition, when a CAP law was in place, social workers were more likely to find neglect if the child had sustained a firearm-related injury as well (p values ranged from 0.016-0.0081 for age comparisons). CONCLUSIONS: The vast majority of child/family welfare social workers surveyed found it to be child neglect when youth accessed or had potential access to a loaded, unsecured firearm. Results of the study provide support for the passage of universal CAP laws to help protect children equally across states and ensure the safe storage of firearms in homes.