Population Health Institute
Translating Research for Policy and Practice

Partner with Parents, Caregivers, and Families

Strategy Description

Staff conducting outreach should partner with parent, caregiver, and family groups to discuss firearms and suicide prevention and promote crisis lines and/or other agencies that provide crisis support as a resource. Evidence shows the importance of educating parents, caregivers, and families about secure firearm storage, enhancing social connectedness, and leveraging trusted messengers to raise awareness and prevent youth suicide.

Action Steps Based on the Literature 

  1. Train staff conducting outreach on best practices: Educate staff conducting outreach on best practices for addressing firearm violence and suicide, including how to engage with parents and caregivers effectively, promote secure storage practices, and enhance social connectedness among youth at elevated risk1,2.
  2. Build relationships with relevant organizations: Reach out to local parent, caregiver, and family groups for potential collaboration around discussion of suicide prevention, firearm safety, and the crisis line and/or other crisis services. This may include working with schools, parenting/caregiver support groups, community centers, etc. to reach parents, caregivers, and families3,4.
  3. Develop or refer to tailored educational materials:  Refer to or create informative brochures, presentations, and online resources about firearm safety, suicide prevention, the role of parents, caregivers, and other family members as trusted messengers, and available crisis support services5,6.

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Evidence Summary

Research indicates that many parents are unaware of the ease with which children can access firearms, often keeping firearms in plain sight or giving them as gifts, which may lead to impulsive suicides among youths. One multi-state study on youth (ages less than 21) firearm suicide found that, in cases where gun ownership information was available, nearly two-thirds of firearm suicide victims used guns belonging to parents or family members, highlighting the need for educating firearm-owning families on secure storage practices5. Providing secure storage devices along with education and counseling can enhance these practices and help prevent youth suicides1.

The socio-ecological framework underscores the importance of a child’s environment in their well-being, suggesting that partnering with parents can create a more holistic response to firearm-related suicide risks2. Family and school connectedness have been shown to protect against suicidal thoughts and behaviors, with increased peer and family connectedness reducing the likelihood of suicide attempts and ideation3. Additionally, many adults are unaware that limiting access to lethal means, such as firearms, can prevent suicide, emphasizing the role of trusted messengers, including parents, in spreading awareness4.

Digital interventions, such as web-based decision aids, have proven effective in supporting lethal means storage, including firearms, for parents. The “Lock and Protect” decision aid, now called “Lock to Live”, was highly rated by parental participants for its usefulness in changing access to lethal means and providing information on storage options6. These findings highlight the importance of partnering with parents to enhance secure storage practices, increase social connectedness, and raise awareness about the risks of firearm access.

References

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]. (2022) Suicide Prevention Resource for Action: A Compilation of the Best Available Evidence. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/resources/prevention.html
  2. Allchin, A., Chaplin, V., & Horwitz, J. (2019). Limiting access to lethal means: Applying the social ecological model for firearm suicide prevention. Injury Prevention: Journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention, 25(Suppl 1), i44–i48. https://doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2018-042809
  3. Arango, A., Brent, D., Grupp-Phelan, J., Barney, B.J., Spirito, A., Mroczkowski, M.M., Shenoi, R., Mahabee-Gittens, M., Casper, T.C., King, C. (2024), Social connectedness and adolescent suicide risk. The Journal of Child Psychology andPsychiatry, 65: 785-797. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13908
  4. Suicide Prevention Resource Center. (2024). Public Perceptions of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Survey Results. Retrieved from https://suicidepreventionnow.org/documents/executive-summary-2024.pdf
  5. Choi, N., DiNitto, D., Marti, C. (2017). Youth firearm suicide: Precipitating/risk factors and gun access. Children and Youth Services Review, 83: 9-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.10.022
  6. Asarnow, J. R., Zullo, L., Ernestus, S. M., Venables, C. W., Goldston, D. B., Tunno, A. M., & Betz, M. E. (2021). “Lock and Protect”: Development of a digital decision aid to support lethal means counseling in parents of suicidal youth. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 736236. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.736236

Implementation Examples

  • Lock to Live (previously called Lock and Protect) digital aid for parents is successful in educating parents around secure firearm storage and child suicide and encourages them to change their lethal means storage practices6.
  • The Michigan School Safety Initiative offers free training resources and technical assistance for all schools in the State of Michigan to improve school safety and prevent violence, including information to distribute to parents and caregivers.

Implementation Resources

  • The University of Michigan created parent and caregiver-facing materials which can be shared with schools or community members who have children or teens in the home. These resources emphasize the importance of secure storage to increase safety for young people.
  • Johns Hopkins University wrote an article to support normalizing conversations about guns in the home and how they’re stored.
  • The National Shooting Sports Foundation’s Project ChildSafe emphasizes being a responsible firearm owner and how to talk about firearm safety with kids. The project was created by firearm owners for firearm owners. It has many resources, such as where to pick up a free safety kit, videos about protecting the people you love.
  • The BE SMART Program created a resource offering suggestions on how to talk to young children and adolescents about firearm safety, the risk of unintentional firearm injury, and the importance of secure storage.
  • The University of South Florida created the “It’s Time to Talk about It”: A Family Guide to Youth Suicide Prevention. This guide describes the many critical roles families play in preventing youth suicide, including highlighting access to firearms in their potential suicide warning signs on page 6. Note that this resource references the previous National Suicide Prevention Lifeline phone number and not 988.  The NSPL number remains active as a legacy number and will direct people to the current 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline service.
  • The Suicide Prevention Resource Center created a resource sheet with a selection of websites and online information sheets that have suicide prevention resources for parents, guardians, and other family members. Note that this resource references the previous National Suicide Prevention Lifeline phone number and not 988.  The NSPL number remains active as a legacy number and will direct people to the current 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline service.
  • The Suicide Prevention Resource Center includes several school-related suicide prevention best practices here.

Related Strategies

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