Pediatric Firearm Deaths and State Policies on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development

To determine whether state-level social, emotional, and academic development (SEAD) policies are associated with pediatric firearm homicides and suicides.

Firearm deaths continue to rise among US children. School-based efforts to promote SEAD may be a means to reduce such deaths, but state-level policies vary, and the effect on firearm deaths is unknown.

We used Education Trust data regarding state-level SEAD policies, averaging 6 domains to create a cumulative score and investigating each domain individually. The primary outcomes were pediatric firearm homicides and suicides, using covariates from the American Community Survey and State Firearm Laws database. We mapped SEAD policies and pediatric death rates. Poisson regression was used to investigate associations between SEAD policies and pediatric firearm deaths.

Annual statewide pediatric firearm deaths ranged from 0.85 to 7.81 per 100,000; homicides from 0.64 to 5.69, and suicides from 0.21 to 4.75. Univariate analyses demonstrated associations between SEAD scores and both homicides ( P =0.003) and suicides ( P =0.032), but these were nonsignificant after adjustment. Professional Development and Engagement policies were associated with lower rates of pediatric firearm homicides after adjustment (IRR=0.33, P =0.004 and IRR=0.46, P =0.014, respectively). There was no significant association between any domain and pediatric firearm suicide.

Professional Development and Student, Family, and Community Engagement policies are associated with lower rates of pediatric firearm homicides; however, there was no significant association between pediatric firearm deaths and summary SEAD measures after adjustment. Certain SEAD policies may be helpful in decreasing pediatric firearm deaths.