The U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., recently released a National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. The first document establishes 11 goals and 68 measurable objectives for the national effort to prevent suicide and suicide attempts and to reduce their harmful aftereffects on families and communities. The objectives include: defining and implementing screening guidelines for educational institutions and correctional facilities, along with guidelines on essential linkages to service providers; providing more treatment for suicidal persons with mental illness, and increasing the number of states with insurance parity laws mandating equitable coverage for mental illness; developing technical-support centers to enhance states' capacity to implement and evaluate suicide prevention programs; and increasing the number of professional, volunteer and faith-based groups that integrate suicide prevention into their ongoing activities. The Surgeon General's office will issue a publication recommending sound approaches for media coverage of suicide-related events later this year. To view a complete list of goals and objectives for the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, visit www.surgeongeneral.gov.

In the convenience sample of 8- to 12-year old boys, researchers sought to examine the behavior of boys exposed to handgun and to compare the results with parental perceptions. Subjects of the study were solicited from families that completed a survey on gun ownership, storage practices and parental beliefs regarding their child's interest in guns.

Parental perceptions were measured via a questionnaire. Using a scale of 1 to 5, parents were asked to rate their perceptions of their child's interest in real guns, with a score of 1 to 2 representing low interest; 3 moderate interest; and 4 to 5 high interest. Parents also were asked to bring a peer or sibling of the eligible child to the study. Boys were grouped into pairs or trios and placed in a room containing two water pistols and a real gun, all of which were hidden separately in drawers.

The investigators report that of the 29 groups participating in the study, 72 percent discovered the handgun and 76 percent handled it, with one or more boys in 10 of the groups pulling the trigger. Almost half of boys said they believed the gun to be a toy or were uncertain if it was real.

The authors note that parental perceptions of their children's gun interest was not predictive of the actual behavior observed when the child found the gun. Boys of parents who believed their gun interest to be low were as likely to handle the gun or pull the trigger, as boys of parents who believed their child's interest to be moderate or high.

"Many 8- to 12-year old boys will handle a handgun if they find one," the authors conclude. "Guns that are kept in homes should be stored in a manner that renders them inaccessible to children."

Jackman GA, Farah MM, Kellermann AL, et al.: Seeing is Believing: what do boys do when they find a real gun? Pediatrics 2001; 107:1247-1250. For information, contact: Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine and the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30322.