PEDIATRICS Vol. 107 No. 6 June 2001, pp. 1247-1250

Seeing Is Believing: What Do Boys Do When They Find a Real Gun?

Received Apr 17, 2000; accepted Sep 15, 2000.

Geoffrey A. Jackman^*, Mirna M. Farah, Arthur L. Kellermann^§, and Harold K. Simon^*

From the ^* Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine and the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia;  Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and ^§ Center for Injury Control, Rollins School of Public Health, and the Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.

Objectives.  To determine how boys behave when they find a handgun in a presumably safe environment and to compare parental expectations of their child's interest in real guns with this observed behavior.

Methods.  A convenience sample of 8- to 12-year-old boys was recruited from families that completed a survey on firearm ownership, storage practices, and parental perceptions. Parents were asked to rate their child's interest in real guns on a scale from 1 to 5: 1-2 = low interest, 3 = moderate interest, and 4-5 = high interest. Parents of an eligible child were asked to bring to the exercise 1 of their son's playmates and/or a sibling in the same age range. After informed parental consent was obtained, each pair or trio of boys was placed in a room with a 1-way mirror and observed for up to 15 minutes. Two water pistols and an actual .380 caliber handgun were concealed in separate drawers. The handgun contained a radio transmitter that activated a light whenever the trigger was depressed with sufficient force to discharge the firearm. After the exercise, each boy was asked whether he thought that the pistol was real or a toy. Before leaving, each child was counseled about safe behavior around guns.

Results.  Twenty-nine groups of boys (n = 64) took part in the study. The mean age of participants was 9.8 years. Twenty-one of the groups (72%) discovered the handgun (n = 48 boys); 16 groups (76%) handled it (n = 30 boys). One or more members in 10 of the groups (48%) pulled the trigger (n = 16 boys). Approximately half of the 48 boys who found the gun thought that it was a toy or were unsure whether it was real. Parental estimates of their child's interest in guns did not predict actual behavior on finding the handgun. Boys who were believed to have a low interest in real guns were as likely to handle the handgun or pull the trigger as boys who were perceived to have a moderate or high interest in guns. More than 90% of the boys who handled the gun or pulled the trigger reported that they had previously received some sort of gun safety instruction.

Conclusion.  Many 8- to 12-year-old boys will handle a handgun if they find one. Guns that are kept in homes should be stored in a manner that renders them inaccessible to children.guns, weapons, firearms, children, childhood behavior, injury prevention. .

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Facebook    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. H. DuRant, S. Barkin, J. A. Craig, V. A. Weiley, E. H. Ip, and R. C. Wasserman Firearm Ownership and Storage Patterns Among Families With Children Who Receive Well-Child Care in Pediatric Offices Pediatrics, June 1, 2007; 119(6): e1271 - e1279. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Baxley and M. Miller Parental Misperceptions About Children and Firearms Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, May 1, 2006; 160(5): 542 - 547. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. J. Brown, M. C. Roberts, S. Mayes, and R. E. Boles Effects of Parental Viewing of Children's Risk Behavior on Home Safety Practices J. Pediatr. Psychol., October 1, 2005; 30(7): 571 - 580. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. B. Cole and R. M. Johnson Storing Guns Safely in Homes With Children and Adolescents JAMA, February 9, 2005; 293(6): 740 - 741. [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. M. Connor The Association Between Presence of Children in the Home and Firearm-Ownership and -Storage Practices Pediatrics, January 1, 2005; 115(1): e38 - e43. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. J. Gatheridge, R. G. Miltenberger, D. F. Huneke, M. J. Satterlund, A. R. Mattern, B. M. Johnson, and C. A. Flessner Comparison of Two Programs to Teach Firearm Injury Prevention Skills to 6- and 7-Year-Old Children Pediatrics, September 1, 2004; 114(3): e294 - e299. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M Miller and D Hemenway Unsupervised firearm handling by California adolescents Inj. Prev., June 1, 2004; 10(3): 163 - 168. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J S Vernick, M O'Brien, L M Hepburn, S B Johnson, D W Webster, and S W Hargarten Unintentional and undetermined firearm related deaths: a preventable death analysis for three safety devices Inj. Prev., December 1, 2003; 9(4): 307 - 311. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. M. Connor and K. L. Wesolowski "They're Too Smart for That": Predicting What Children Would Do in the Presence of Guns Pediatrics, February 1, 2003; 111(2): e109 - 114. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. L. Cheng, R. A. Brenner, J. L. Wright, H. C. Sachs, P. Moyer, and M. Rao Community Norms on Toy Guns Pediatrics, January 1, 2003; 111(1): 75 - 79. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. C. McIntosh and M. L. Katcher Small Children Can't Be Taught Firearm Safety AAP Grand Rounds, December 1, 2002; 8(6): 67 - 68. [Full Text] [PDF]

				M H Nguyen, J L Annest, J A Mercy, G W Ryan, and L A Fingerhut Trends in BB/pellet gun injuries in children and teenagers in the United States, 1985-99 Inj. Prev., September 1, 2002; 8(3): 185 - 191. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. K. Simon and A. Kellermann Truth or Consequences: Firearm Safety Instruction at the Time of Purchase Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, August 1, 2002; 156(8): 750 - 751. [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Coyne-Beasley, K. S. McGee, R. M. Johnson, and W. C. Bordley The Association of Handgun Ownership and Storage Practices With Safety Consciousness Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, August 1, 2002; 156(8): 763 - 768. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. M. Sanguino, M. D. Dowd, S. A. McEnaney, J. Knapp, and R. R. Tanz Handgun Safety: What Do Consumers Learn From Gun Dealers? Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, August 1, 2002; 156(8): 777 - 780. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

eLetters: