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Robert K. Lee, RN, DrPH; Jeffrey J. Sacks, MD, MPH
Centers for Disease Control Atlanta, Ga

JAMA. 1990;264(17):2210.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

In an ongoing telephone survey¹ in Texas, interviews (N = 1005; response rate, 70%) in the spring of 1989 included information about demographics and firearm ownership. All respondents who indicated that the household included an elementary school—aged child in the past 5 years were asked where the child stayed after elementary school dismissal. Those who answered "at home alone" or "at home with an older child" were considered to have unsupervised, ie, latchkey, children.

Almost 55% of households reported owning firearms. Among households with children, 54% had a firearm; of these, 70% reported having more than one gun and 66% had a handgun. For homes with both firearms and elementary school—aged children, 15% had an unsupervised child after elementary school dismissal.

The Texas firearm ownership figures are 10% higher than those reported nationally (45% in 1985).² Assuming that, as in Texas, the national prevalence of gun . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Footnotes
Edited by Drummond Rennie, MD, Deputy Editor (West), and Don Riesenberg, MD, Senior Editor.

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