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

Adolescent Behavior Clinical Trial

Official title:

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

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05257837
• Other study ID #: 2021B0318
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: February 2, 2022
• Est. completion date: December 2022

Study information

• Verified date: January 2022
• Source: Ohio State University
• Contact: Brad J Bushman, PhD
• Phone: 614-688-8779
• Email: bushman.20[@]osu.edu
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial 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.

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.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 208
• Est. completion date: December 2022
• Est. primary completion date: October 2022
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 8 Years to 12 Years

Eligibility

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)

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Adolescent Behavior
• Psychology, Social

Intervention

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.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	The Ohio State University	Columbus	Ohio

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Ohio State University

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	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.	20 minutes play session
Primary	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	20 minutes play session
Primary	Behavioral: Gun location response	If the participants found the handguns, the coders will identify whether the participants told an adult or whether the participants touched the handgun.	20 minutes play session
Primary	Behavioral: Gun holding time	If participants handle the gun, coders will record how long the gun was held.	20 minutes play session
Primary	Behavioral: Gun pointing	Coders will identify whether the participants pointed a handgun at themselves or their partners.	20 minutes play session
Secondary	Attitudes toward guns	Participants will complete a post-test questionnaire that collects data on the child's attitudes towards guns.	After 20 minutes play session. Five minute questionnaire.