Clinical trial NCT05257837: Follow-up Gun Study: Can Safety Videos Mitigate Interest in Guns in Children?
Official title: A Gun Safety Video Can Reduce Children's Unsafe Behavior Around Real Guns: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Psychology, Social
Adolescent Behavior
Keywords: adolescent
gun
violence
media
Lead sponsor: Ohio State University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2022-02-25
Enrollment: 245
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 8
Maximum age (years): 12
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: Participants are randomly assigned to watch a safety video about guns or a safety video about seatbelts.

Participants are then randomly assigned to watch a movie containing guns, or a movie not containing guns.

Outlier data will be excluded in analysis.
Primary purpose: OTHER

Brief summary: 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.

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.

Eligibility criteria: 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)

Primary outcomes:
measure: Behavioral: Gun Location
timeFrame: 20 minutes play session
measure: Behavioral: Gun Location Response - Told Adult
timeFrame: 20 minutes play session
measure: Behavioral: Gun Location Response - Touched Gun
timeFrame: 20 minute play session
measure: Behavioral: Gun Holding Time
timeFrame: 20 minutes play session
measure: Behavioral: Trigger Pulled
timeFrame: 20 minute play session
measure: Number of Trigger Pulls
timeFrame: 20 minutes play session
measure: Gun Pointing With Trigger Pull
timeFrame: 20 minute play session
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Attitudes Toward Guns
timeFrame: After 20 minutes play session, 5 minute questionnaire
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Columbus
country: United States
facility: The Ohio State University
state: Ohio
Study officials:
affiliation: Ohio State University
name: Brad J Bushman, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: