Title: "We've Got a Gun?": Comparing Reports of Adolescents and Their Parents About Household Firearms

Publication Date: January 2008

What does it say? In about one third of households with adolescents, parents and adolescents do not agree whether there is a handgun in the home. Mothers and girls are less likely than fathers and boys to report that there is a gun in the home. For unmarried mothers, when an adolescent boy reports a handgun in the home, nearly three-fourths of the mothers say there is no handgun in the home.

How can I use it? For households with unmarried mothers and adolescents, there is disagreement about whether or not there is a gun in the home. It is possible that adolescent boys may be in possession of handguns, unbeknownst to their mothers. It is also possible that unmarried mothers are reluctant to report keeping a handgun in the home, to their sons or to survey researchers, or that their boys are boasting about guns that aren't there. Given that most adolescent suicides and unintentional shootings are committed with a gun from the home, the lack of agreement between single mothers and teens is troubling.

Citation Sorenson, Susan B., Cook, Philip J., "'We've Got a Gun?': Comparing Reports of Adolescents and Their Parents About Household Firearms," Journal of Community Psychology 36 (1) (2008):1-19

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