Gun storage patterns in US homes with children. A pediatric practice-based survey. Pediatric Practice Research Group

Y. D. Senturia, K. K. Christoffel and M. Donovan
Children's Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Ill, USA.

OBJECTIVE: To describe gun storage patterns in gun-owning families with children. DESIGN: Survey of parents attending participating offices. SETTING: Twenty-nine urban, suburban, and rural pediatric practices in Chicago, Ill; New Jersey; Houston, Tex; Utah; Georgia; Iowa; and South Carolina. SUBJECTS: Parents of children attending offices for well- or sick-child care. SELECTION PROCEDURE: Consecutive sample of families seen during the 1-week study period. MEASUREMENTS AND ANALYSES: Logistic regression models were constructed to identify sociodemographic factors associated with keeping guns loaded. RESULTS: Of 5233 surveys, 1682 (32%) indicated ownership of at least one powder firearm. Of the gun-owning families, 61% reported at least one gun unlocked, and 15% reported at least one gun loaded. Rifles were more often stored unlocked (62% rifles vs 52% handguns, P<.001, z=4.60; two-proportion z-test), but handguns were more likely to be kept loaded (3% rifles vs 27% handguns, P<.001). Seven percent of gun-owning families reported at least one gun unlocked and loaded (handguns 12 times more likely than rifles). Only 30% of households reported all guns stored unloaded and locked up. The best-fit logistic regression model for keeping a gun loaded identified four predictor variables: owning a gun for self-protection, work-related gun ownership, owning a handgun, and no men in the home. CONCLUSIONS: Because most gun-owning families store guns loaded, unlocked, or both, anticipatory guidance should address gun storage in all such families. Interventions designed to alter the way work guns are dealt with after work, and to provide safe and effective means of self-protection might affect these storage patterns.

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Storage of household firearms: an examination of the attitudes and beliefs of married women with children
Johnson et al.
Health Educ Res 2008;23:592-602.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Is Office-Based Counseling About Media Use, Timeouts, and Firearm Storage Effective? Results From a Cluster-Randomized, Controlled Trial
Barkin et al.
Pediatrics 2008;122:e15-e25.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Children and Firearms in the Home: A Southwestern Ohio Ambulatory Research Network (SOAR-Net) Study
Forbis et al.
J Am Board Fam Med 2007;20:385-391.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Firearm Ownership and Storage Patterns Among Families With Children Who Receive Well-Child Care in Pediatric Offices
DuRant et al.
Pediatrics 2007;119:e1271-e1279.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Firearm Injuries: Epidemic Then, Endemic Now
Christoffel
Am. J. Public Health 2007;97:626-629.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Evaluation of a Community-Based Handgun Safe-Storage Campaign
Sidman et al.
Pediatrics 2005;115:e654-e661.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Gun Storage Practices and Risk of Youth Suicide and Unintentional Firearm Injuries
Grossman et al.
JAMA 2005;293:707-714.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Association Between Presence of Children in the Home and Firearm-Ownership and -Storage Practices
Connor
Pediatrics 2005;115:e38-e43.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Evaluation of the ``Respect Not Risk'' Firearm Safety Lesson for 3rd-Graders
Liller et al.
The Journal of School Nursing 2003;19:338-343.
ABSTRACT  

Firearms Availability and Suicide: Evidence, Interventions, and Future Directions
Brent and Bridge
American Behavioral Scientist 2003;46:1192-1210.
ABSTRACT  

"They're Too Smart for That": Predicting What Children Would Do in the Presence of Guns
Connor and Wesolowski
Pediatrics 2003;111:e109-114.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Association of Handgun Ownership and Storage Practices With Safety Consciousness
Coyne-Beasley et al.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2002;156:763-768.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Pediatric Residents' Attitudes and Behaviors Related to Counseling Adolescents and Their Parents About Firearm Safety
Solomon et al.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2002;156:769-775.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Seeing Is Believing: What Do Boys Do When They Find a Real Gun?
Jackman et al.
Pediatrics 2001;107:1247-1250.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Reexamining the Association Between Child Access Prevention Gun Laws and Unintentional Shooting Deaths of Children
Webster and Starnes
Pediatrics 2000;106:1466-1469.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Impact of Poverty, Fear of Crime, and Crime Victimization on Keeping Firearms for Protection and Unsafe Gun-Storage Practices: A Review and Analysis with Policy Recommendations
Vacha and McLaughlin
Urban Education 2000;35:496-510.
ABSTRACT  

Are Household Firearms Stored Safely? It Depends on Whom You Ask
Azrael et al.
Pediatrics 2000;106:31e-31.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Firearms in the Home: Parental Perceptions
Farah et al.
Pediatrics 1999;104:1059-1063.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Firearm Injury Prevention Counseling: Are We Missing the Mark?
Becher and Christakis
Pediatrics 1999;104:530-535.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Pediatric practice based evaluation of the Steps to Prevent Firearm Injury program
Oatis et al.
Inj. Prev. 1999;5:48-52.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT