"I never thought to ask:" A Cross-Sectional Study of US Parents' Experiences Discussing Firearms With Other...

This study examined the prevalence of parents who have asked other caregivers about household firearms ("asking behavior") and barriers and facilitators to asking behavior.

We administered a survey with US parents (N = 768) recruited through Qualtrics Panels in January 2024, including firearm owners ("owners"), non-owners with a household firearm owned by someone else ("non-owners with a household firearm"), and non-owners without a household firearm ("non-owners"). McNemar's tests and multivariable logistic regression assessed group differences. Thematic analysis was conducted on qualitative data regarding barriers and facilitators to asking.

Forty-one percent of parents reported explicitly asking about firearms when leaving their child with another caregiver. Another 23% had discussed firearms with the caregiver in another context. Asking behavior differed by ownership status as follows: non-owners had approximately 70% decreased odds of asking compared with owners (AOR = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.18, 0.43). Predicted probabilities of asking were highest among owners and lowest among non-owners across all levels of urbanicity. Common barriers to asking about firearms were never having considered it and holding assumptions about the caregiver's ability to maintain a safe environment. Owners had 4 times greater odds of being confident in asking behavior compared to non-owners, even after controlling for confidence asking about other safety hazards (AOR = 3.98, 95% CI: 2.22, 7.51).

Many parents have discussed firearms with other caregivers, but over half of non-owners have never discussed firearms in a caregiving context. Non-owners may benefit from guidance in discussing firearm availability with others who care for their children.