Follow-up Gun Study: Can Safety Videos Mitigate Interest in Guns in Children?

A Gun Safety Video Can Reduce Children's Unsafe Behavior Around Real Guns: A Randomized Clinical Trial

The investigators' previous research has shown that children exposed to media characters with guns in movies and video games are more likely to use real guns themselves (e.g., touch them, hold them, pull the trigger). This research tests whether exposure to a gun safety video a week before the study can help counteract dangerous behavior around guns.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Psychology, Social; Adolescent Behavior
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Gun handling behavior; Other: Debriefing

Detailed Description

Guns are prominent in movies that target children. An analysis of top selling films found that the depiction of guns in violent scenes in PG-13 films that target youth has increased from the level of G and PG files in 1985 when the rating was introduced, to the level of R films by 2005, to exceed the level of R films since 2012, a trend that has continued.

Research in the investigator's lab has shown that children are more likely to use guns (e.g., handle them, pull the trigger) after exposure to movie characters who use guns. The investigators replicated this study using video games, and also found that children who had taken a gun safety course were less likely to engage in dangerous behavior around firearms. However, it is difficult to draw causal inferences about the gun safety course because children were not randomly assigned to take or not take a gun safety course.

The present research will aim to reduce dangerous behavior around firearms by first exposing participants to a gun safety video recorded by The Ohio State University Chief of Police. The control video is about car safety. Children will see the videos about a week before they come into the lab.

In the lab, children will be tested in pairs. They will first watch a film clip from one of two different PG rated films, either in its original form (with guns) or with the guns edited out. After exposure to the film, participants will be placed in a room with toys, including two real unloaded guns that have been modified for safety and include a trigger pull counter.

The study uses 2 (gun safety video vs. car safety video) X 2 (movie with guns vs. movie without guns) between-subjects factorial design.

The investigators predict that children will be less likely to engage in dangerous behavior around real firearms after viewing the gun safety video than those who viewed the car safety video, even if they see a movie with guns in the lab.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 245
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Ohio
    • Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43201
      • The Ohio State University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 8 years to 12 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 8-12 yrs
• No prior participation in the study
• Able to schedule participation with a known peer (8-12yo).

Exclusion Criteria:

• Younger than 8 yrs old
• Older than 12 yrs old
• Prior study participation
• Could not schedule participation with a known peer (8-12yo)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Gun safety vid x Movie clip - guns present; Participants in this condition will view a gun safety video featuring The Ohio State University Chief of Police about a week before coming into the lab. In the lab, they will watch a ~20 minute clip of either The Rocketeer or National Treasure featuring guns.	Behavioral: Gun handling behavior; Children will play in an observed room for 20 minutes. Aside from a selection of toys, two real handguns will be placed in a drawer. The handguns have been modified so they cannot fire. Inside the magazine, the handgun contains no bullets. Instead, it contains a sensor that counts the number of times the trigger is pulled with sufficient force to discharge the gun. This allows us to distinguish reliably the children who pull the trigger from those who handle the gun but do not pull the trigger; Other: Debriefing; Children and their parents will be debriefed on the actual purpose of the study, including the role of the safety video and how the movie clips were edited.
Active Comparator: Gun safety vid x Movie clip - guns absent; Participants in this condition will view a gun safety video featuring The Ohio State University Chief of Police about a week before coming into the lab. In the lab, they will watch a ~20 minute clip of either The Rocketeer or National Treasure with the guns edited out.	Behavioral: Gun handling behavior; Children will play in an observed room for 20 minutes. Aside from a selection of toys, two real handguns will be placed in a drawer. The handguns have been modified so they cannot fire. Inside the magazine, the handgun contains no bullets. Instead, it contains a sensor that counts the number of times the trigger is pulled with sufficient force to discharge the gun. This allows us to distinguish reliably the children who pull the trigger from those who handle the gun but do not pull the trigger; Other: Debriefing; Children and their parents will be debriefed on the actual purpose of the study, including the role of the safety video and how the movie clips were edited.
Active Comparator: Seatbelt safety video x Movie clip - guns present; Participants in this condition will view a seatbelt safety video about a week before coming into the lab. In the lab, they will watch a ~20 minute clip of either The Rocketeer or National Treasure featuring guns.	Behavioral: Gun handling behavior; Children will play in an observed room for 20 minutes. Aside from a selection of toys, two real handguns will be placed in a drawer. The handguns have been modified so they cannot fire. Inside the magazine, the handgun contains no bullets. Instead, it contains a sensor that counts the number of times the trigger is pulled with sufficient force to discharge the gun. This allows us to distinguish reliably the children who pull the trigger from those who handle the gun but do not pull the trigger; Other: Debriefing; Children and their parents will be debriefed on the actual purpose of the study, including the role of the safety video and how the movie clips were edited.
Active Comparator: Seatbelt safety video x Movie clip - guns absent; Participants in this condition will view a seatbelt safety video about a week before coming into the lab. In the lab, they will watch a ~20 minute clip of either The Rocketeer or National Treasure featuring guns.	Behavioral: Gun handling behavior; Children will play in an observed room for 20 minutes. Aside from a selection of toys, two real handguns will be placed in a drawer. The handguns have been modified so they cannot fire. Inside the magazine, the handgun contains no bullets. Instead, it contains a sensor that counts the number of times the trigger is pulled with sufficient force to discharge the gun. This allows us to distinguish reliably the children who pull the trigger from those who handle the gun but do not pull the trigger; Other: Debriefing; Children and their parents will be debriefed on the actual purpose of the study, including the role of the safety video and how the movie clips were edited.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Behavioral: Gun Location	Trained research assistants, blind to video game condition and experimental hypotheses, will independently code the play session videos. Coders will identify whether the participants found the handguns, how long the participants held the handgun, and whether or not they pulled the trigger.	20 minutes play session
Behavioral: Gun Location Response - Told Adult	If the participants found the handguns, the coders will identify whether the participants told an adult.	20 minutes play session
Behavioral: Gun Location Response - Touched Gun	If the participants found the handguns, the coders will identify whether the participants touched the handgun.	20 minute play session
Behavioral: Gun Holding Time	If participants handle the gun, coders will record how long the gun was held.	20 minutes play session
Behavioral: Trigger Pulled	When the gun was handled, this measures whether or not the participant(s) pulled the trigger.	20 minute play session
Number of Trigger Pulls	The two guns hidden in the playroom contain sensors that count how often the trigger is pulled with sufficient force to discharge the gun. A counter on the weapon displays the number of pulls, which will be entered into a data file along with the observational data described below. Observational data will also be used to confirm trigger pull counts. Note: This measure includes all 216 participants who found the handguns.	20 minutes play session
Gun Pointing With Trigger Pull	Trained research assistants, blind to video game condition and experimental hypotheses, will independently code the play session videos. If participants pulled the trigger, were they pointing the gun at themselves or their partners? Calculations done using all participants who found a firearm.	20 minute play session

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Attitudes Toward Guns	Participants will complete a post-test questionnaire that collects data on the child's attitudes towards guns. Questionnaire is a 15-item attitudes towards guns survey (e.g., "I don't like being around people with guns because someone could end up getting hurt"; 0=strongly disagree to 4=strongly agree	After 20 minutes play session, 5 minute questionnaire

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Ohio State University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Brad J Bushman, PhD, Ohio State University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 2, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 16, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): October 16, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 20, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 23, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): February 25, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): November 20, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 2, 2024
• Last Verified: October 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: adolescent; violence; gun; media
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2021B0318

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Deidentified data will be shared upon request
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: After the manuscript is accepted for publication. No expiration date.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Data will be open and available to all who want to examine them.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ICF; ANALYTIC_CODE; CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No