On June 7, 1999, a child access protection (CAP) bill was signed into law in the state of Illinois. The authors seek to evaluate the effect of the new law on parental perceptions of gun safety. Three rounds of surveys will be given to parents through Pediatric Practice Research Group (PPRG) sites. This paper will focus on gender differences revealed in the baseline sample in regards to: (a) attitudes about guns necessity; (b) attitudes about the safe handling of guns in homes with children; (c) knowledge concerning the Illinois law; (d) experience in handling guns.
The baseline sample is comprised of parents with children under the ages of 14 (N=1332). Of these, 14.5% are male (n=193), 85.4% are female (n=1137), and the median age is 35 years. The vast majority, 89.0%, are Caucasian (n=1185), while 4.1% (n=54), 3.8% (n=50) and 2.1% (n=28) are Latino, African American and Other, respectively. Only 2.6% (n=35) have less than a High School degree, while 54.7% (n=728) have attained at least a college education. In the sample, 20.1% (n=227) of the females currently own a gun, compared to 28.6% (n=55) of the males. Only 31.7% (n=360) of the females report ever having fired a gun, compared to 71.7% (n=137) of the males.
We will control the gender differences regarding gun safety by age, race and educational attainment.
Learning Objectives: At the close of the session, participatns will: (1) have acquired information about gender differences regarding gun safety in the home and gun experience; (2) will be able to describe the gender differences regarding gun safety in the home and gun experienceby age, race and educational attainment and develop more effective intervention strategies for gun safety in the home; (3) identify households which may be at risk for unintentional firearm injuries to children, and develop an appropriate intervention based upon catchment area demographics, attitudes and percetions of gun safety
Keywords: Policy/Policy Development, Injury Prevention
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.