Higher proportion of those who knew someone who had been injured or killed by firearms believe firearms in home make them safer<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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MONDAY, Oct. 27, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Many rural American adolescents have experienced the threat of firearm violence and\/or know someone killed or injured by firearms, according to a study published online Oct. 22 in Pediatrics<\/em>.<\/p>\n Megan R. Sinik, M.D., from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and colleagues examined rural adolescents’ personal experiences with firearm-related violence using a convenience sample of 2021 National FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America) Convention & Expo attendees. Data were included for 3,296 adolescents aged 13 to 18 years.<\/p>\n The researchers found that 35 percent reported experiencing a school lockdown due to potential firearm violence concerns. The odds of experiencing a lockdown were 1.7-fold greater for participants from the South versus those from the Northeast. About 10 percent had seen someone threatened with a firearm, while 46 percent reported that they knew someone who had been killed or injured by gunfire; 46 percent of those knew someone with an unintentional injury\/death. The odds of knowing someone who was killed or injured by firearms were 1.6 times greater for respondents with a handgun in the home. The odds of agreeing with multiple firearm safety interventions were higher for adolescents who had experienced a school lockdown. More participants who knew someone who had been injured or killed by firearms believed firearms in the home made them safer.<\/p>\n “FFA members in the study who knew someone injured or killed by a firearm had greater agreement with the statement that firearms in the home make them safer — a belief not supported by research,” the authors write.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n