Abstract
BackgroundPediatric firearm-related deaths and injuries are a serious societal problem. Our study’s objective was to determine social workers’ assessment of child neglect with respect to access or potential access to a loaded firearm.MethodsStudy invitations were delivered by e-mail to National Association of Social Workers members designating their practice as “Child/Family Welfare” (N = 4933) in October/November, 2015. Demographics, attitudes regarding child access prevention (CAP) laws, and the ages (4–14 years) at which social workers deemed several scenarios as child neglect were determined. Descriptive (frequencies) and bivariate (chi square) analyses were performed.Results485 of 4933 social workers completed the survey (9.8%). Of these, most agreed or strongly agreed (≥92%) there should be laws in place requiring firearms to be stored so unwanted access cannot be obtained by a child, even up to 15 years of age. In a scenario where a child had potential access to a loaded firearm, but never gained access, the presence of a CAP law pertinent to the child in the scenario increased the likelihood respondents would find the situation child neglect for all ages (p < 0.0001 for each age comparison). Moreover, 10.3% felt they could not deem the situation child neglect without the presence of a CAP law, no matter the age of the child. In a scenario where a child gained access to a loaded firearm, the vast majority found this to be child neglect (82–99%, with the percentage varying by the age of the child involved), regardless of the presence or absence of a CAP law and/or an injury being sustained. In addition, when a CAP law was in place, social workers were more likely to find neglect if the child had sustained a firearm-related injury as well (p values ranged from 0.016–0.0081 for age comparisons).ConclusionsThe vast majority of child/family welfare social workers surveyed found it to be child neglect when youth accessed or had potential access to a loaded, unsecured firearm. Results of the study provide support for the passage of universal CAP laws to help protect children equally across states and ensure the safe storage of firearms in homes.
Highlights
Pediatric firearm-related deaths and injuries are a serious societal problem
If the child sustained an injury in the scenario (Fig. 2c), a significantly greater percentage considered the situation child neglect when a child access prevention (CAP) law was present as compared to when it was not for 14 year olds
We found a strong consensus among social workers who work with children that allowing access or potential access to loaded firearms by children in the home constitutes child neglect
Summary
Pediatric firearm-related deaths and injuries are a serious societal problem. Our study’s objective was to determine social workers’ assessment of child neglect with respect to access or potential access to a loaded firearm. Firearm-related injury is one of the top three causes of pediatric deaths in the U.S (Dowd & Sege, 2012; National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2018), and the country’s youth mortality rate due to firearms is the highest in the world (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1997; Grinshteyn & Hemenway, 2016). Suicide is the second leading cause of death in the U.S for 10–19 year olds (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2016). The suicide rate for 15–19 year old males increased by nearly one-third from 2007 to 2015, while the rate for females more than doubled (Centers for Disease Control and Injury Prevention, 2017). Evidence is highly conclusive that firearm access in the home increases the risk of suicide (Grossman et al, 2005; Rivara, 2015; Dahlberg et al, 2004; Miller et al, 2013; Miller et al, 2007; Kung et al, 2005; Hemenway, 2011; Anglemyer et al, 2014; Stroebe, 2013)
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