Investigators from Northeastern University and Harvard, both in Boston, MA, conducted a national survey to assess firearm ownership in families with a child with self-harm risk factors, and evaluate firearm storage practices for those with ≥1 firearm. Study participants were drawn from the Growth for Knowledge “KnowledgePanel” (KP), a group of approximately 55,000 US adult volunteers selected for surveys on an ongoing basis. For the study, the group of KP members were selected to receive the survey such that the responses would be representative of US adults in 2015. Those receiving the survey were asked if there were any firearms in their home and, if so, how many. For those with firearms, respondents were asked about whether each gun was stored locked versus unlocked and loaded versus unloaded. These responses were linked to each respondent’s KP profile data, which included information about mental and behavioral health conditions for the respondents and their children. Respondents were classified as “parents” if they were living with a child <18 years old and were the caregiver or health care decision-maker for the child. Parents were classified as living with a child with self-harm risk factors based on parent report of at least one of the following conditions: ADHD, attention deficit disorder, depression, or other mental health condition. Rates of firearm ownership and storage practices were evaluated in households with a child with self-harm risk factors and compared with households with children without risk factors.

Surveys were completed by 3,949 KP members (54.6% response rate). For the subset of respondents who were a caregiver or health care decision-maker for a child <18 years old, the rate of firearm ownership was 43.5% (95% CI: 24.0%, 65.2%) for those with a child with self-harm risk factors and 42.3% (95% CI: 35.2%, 49.7%) for those with a child with no risk factors. Among parents who owned guns, 34.9% (95% CI: 20.2%, 53.2%) of those with a child with self-harm risk factors stored all household firearms locked and unloaded, versus 31.8% (95% CI: 25.9%, 38.3%) of those with a child without risk factors. In 11.6% (95% CI: 4.3%, 27.6%) of gun-owning households with a child with self-harm risk factors, at least one firearm was stored loaded and unlocked compared with 20.3% (95% CI: 15.3%, 26.4%) among households with a child without risk factors; the difference in rates was not significantly different.

The authors conclude that a large number of children with self-harm risk factors live in homes with loaded and unlocked firearms.