Gun safety is crucial for families with high-risk teens

Most parents of teens with depression and substance abuse store guns unsafely, Dr. Grossman writes in Pediatrics

Many heartbreaking suicides could be prevented by better identifying and treating teenagers with depression — and storing guns more safely. So writes David C. Grossman, MD, MPH, in a Kaiser Permanente Share feature story, “Kaiser Permanente Pediatrician-Researcher Discusses Teens and Gun Safety.”

Dr. Grossman, a senior investigator at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute and a pediatrician at Washington Permanente Medical Group, wrote an editorial — “Reducing Youth Firearm Suicide Risk” — in the March issue of Pediatrics about how to prevent youth firearm suicide. Dr. Grossman’s editorial is a companion article to “Firearm Storage in Homes With Children With Self-Harm Risk Factors,” by Scott et al.

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