Morgan ER, et al. - Authors characterized the household firearm presence in children by various sociodemographic characteristics and evaluated the correlation between children living in a home with an unsafely stored firearm and an adult reporting alcohol misuse. Findings suggested a greater likelihood of the children living in a household with an adult who misuses alcohol to live with an unsafely stored firearm, which is concerning given the association between adult alcohol misuse and children’s risk for sustaining injury.

Methods

• In this cross-sectional investigation, experts used data from the 2013 and 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System in the state of Washington, a program that administers a telephone survey statewide to randomly selected noninstitutionalized adults at least 18 years of age about their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services.
• A total of 5,241 responses to the firearm ownership and storage module and the Random Child Selection module (intended for a randomly selected child younger than age 18 years and reported by an adult living in the same household) were included by the 2013 and 2016 data.
• They collected the data for this study from January 1 through December 31, 2013, and January 1 through December 31, 2016.
• They analyzed the data from March through May 2018.
• The primary outcomes were a child’s residence in a firearm-owning home, the manner in which household firearms were stored, and the adult respondent’s alcohol consumption were included in the main outcomes and measures.

Results

• As per data, 50.7% among the 3,443 children living in a non–firearm-owning household were male (all values given as a percentage only are weighted); among those reporting specific age, the weighted mean age was 9.3 years (unweighted mean [SD], 10.1 [5.2] years).
• Findings suggested that out of 1,756 children living in a firearm-owning household, 52.5% were male; among those reporting specific age, the weighted mean age was 9.1 years (unweighted mean [SD], 9.8 [5.4] years).
• In the state, an estimated 4,70,000 children (29.4%; 95% CI, 27.3%-31.7%) resided in a firearm-owning household.
• Among the ones living in a firearm-owning household, total of 2,58,000 children (54.6%; 95% CI, 51.5%-57.6%), lived with at least 1 firearm that was not stored safely (ie, not locked and unloaded).
• Results demonstrated a greater likeliness of firearms being stored unsafely in homes in which an adult reported alcohol misuse (prevalence ratio: 1.20; 95% CI, 1.07-1.35).