Perceptions of Firearm Safety and Youth Suicide Among Adults With a Child in Their Home

In the United States, 4.6 million households with youth contain loaded and unlocked firearms.¹  Firearms in the home, particularly unsecured household firearms, are associated with an increased risk of youth suicide.^2,3  This study examined perceptions of firearm safety and suicide among adults with children in the home, with and without household firearms. This is critical to providing effective, patient-centered anticipatory care for children and the adults they live with.⁴ 

The cross-sectional Colorado Firearm Injury Prevention Survey was administered by the Ipsos survey firm online in English and Spanish from April through May 2023. The sample comprised 627 participants from the Ipsos KnowledgePanel (70.3% response rate of 924 fielded) and 893 opt-in (nonrandom) participants.⁵  The opt-in sample used calibrated weights of known geodemographic and behavior measures to ensure the blended sample was representative of the Colorado population. Of these 1520 participants, we included 512 reporting...