RIFLE VERSUS HANDGUN OWNERS IN HOMES WITH CHILDREN: DIFFERENCES IN STORAGE PATTERNS

Shari L Barkin¹, Robert H DuRant¹, Nan Hu², Irma M Richardson², Joseph A Craig³, Stacia A Finch⁴, Richard C Wasserman^4,5 and David Altman⁶. ¹Pediatrics, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC; ²Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC; ³Rocky Mountain Youth, Denver, CO; ⁴Pediatric Research in Office Settings, Center for Child Health Research, American Academy of Pediatrics, Elk Grove Village, IL; ⁵Pediatrics, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT and ⁶, Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, NC.

BACKGROUND:  An estimated 34% of children in the United States live in homes with firearms. Studies suggest that fewer than half of gun-owning American households with children store their guns locked and unloaded.

OBJECTIVE:  To examine how long gun (LG: rifles and/or shotguns) owners differ from handgun (HG) owners in their storage practices in homes with children younger than 12 years.

DESIGN/METHODS:  In a national randomized controlled trial currently underway in the Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS) network, 895 parents of patients ages 2-11 completed a 76-item survey during well child visits. We examined baseline gun ownership and storage patterns and how these differed for firearm owners who reported LG versus HG ownership.

RESULTS:  Respondents were from 26 practices in 20 states. Twenty-eight percent of respondents reported gun ownership. Among owners, 46% had only LG, 15% HG, and 39% both. Respondents who lived in non-rural areas were more likely to own a HG (p < 0.0001) and equally as likely to own LGs compared to those who lived in rural areas. People who reported HG ownership were more likely to use a gunlock than if they owned either a LG only or a combination of the two firearms(p = .001, Cramers V= 0.20). Of those who owned a HG only, 14% reported storing it loaded compared to 3% of those who owned both combined (p= .0003, Cramers V= 0.26). None of the LG owners reported storing their firearm loaded. Most respondents reported storing guns separate from bullets, highest among LG owners (95%) compared to HG owners (77%), (p =0.002, Cramers V = 0.23). Gun ownership was associated with two adults in the home versus one or three or more (p= 0.0005).

CONCLUSIONS:  Based on self-reports of parents in pediatric practices across the US, considerable variation in unsafe storage practices exists depending on firearm type and ownership patterns. Pediatric firearm counseling should address the types of firearms stored in homes with children in order to appropriately tailor counseling.