This Is Very Much Our Lane: Childhood Firearm Exposure and Adult Outcomes.

Abstract

The recent spate of mass shootings across the United States has led the president to declare gun violence a public health epidemic.1 Among adolescents and young adults, suicide and homicide are the second- and third-leading causes of death, with approximately half of suicides and nearly 90% of homicides in this age group related to firearms.2–4 In this issue of Pediatrics , Copeland et al5 present the first published prospective study in which the impact of childhood firearm exposure on adult outcomes is examined. This study can be used to inform interventions at the pediatric practice and public policy level. Copeland et al5 test associations of childhood domestic gun access with subsequent adult criminality and suicidality. In this ≥20-year prospective, community-representative study conducted in North Carolina, researchers repeatedly measured household firearm exposure for children. These youth were managed into adulthood with multiple periodic assessments for suicidality and criminality. The proportion of … Address correspondence to Asad Bandealy, MD, MPH, Division of General and Community Pediatrics, Children’s National Hospital, 3336 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009. E-mail: abandeal{at}childrensnational.org