ArticlePloS one2021
"What does it depend on?": Perceptions of safety related to firearms in homes and neighborhoods.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Perspectives of military-affiliated women on lethal means safety: A systematic review.PloS one · 2026Pooled it
- Factors Associated With Prioritizing Quick Firearm Access Over Suicide Prevention Among US Adults.Suicide & life-threatening behavior · 2026Article
- The need for protection: a cross-sectional analysis of direct exposure to firearm violence, attitudes towards firearms for protection, and firearm acquisition in California and Louisiana.Injury epidemiology · 2026Article
- Safety or Risk? Exploring Perceptions of Firearm-Related Risks Among Military Service Members and Civilian Employees at a Military Installation.Journal of injury & violence research · 2025Article
- Optimism Bias Among Gun Owners: Associations With Firearm Injury Prevention Practices and Policy Support.Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education · 2025Article
- Optimism Bias in Firearm-Related Risk Perceptions.JAMA network open · 2023Article
- Differences in Perceptions of Gun-Related Safety by Race and Gun Ownership in the United States.The Journal of law, medicine & ethics : a journal of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThough research has established that firearms in the home increase risk for injury and death, a substantial number of Americans, especially gun owners, believe that guns make their homes safer. More than half of gun owners in a nationally-representative survey said "it depends" when asked whether guns make their homes safer or more dangerous, but little is known about the factors that affect perceived safety.
objectiveTo determine whether the relationship between the presence of firearms and perceived home or neighborhood safety is fixed or depends on additional factors and to identify the additional factors on which it depends.
methodsA mixed-methods cross-sectional analysis of the 2018 state-representative California Safety and Wellbeing Survey (n = 2558, completion rate 49%), including calculation of weighted proportions and qualitative analysis of write-in responses.
findingsOne in six respondents (17.2%, 95% CI 14.9% to 19.7%) reported "it depends" when asked whether a gun in their home made the home a safer or more dangerous place to be ("the home scenario"). One in six (16.6%, 95% CI 14.3% to 19.2%) reported "it depends" when asked whether the neighborhood would be safer if all neighbors had guns in the home ("the neighborhood scenario"). For the home scenario, 28.3% (95% CI 21.9% to 35.7%) cited firearm owner characteristics (e.g., training and proficiency, temperament, and mental health), 28.4% (95% CI 22.3% to 35.5%) cited firearm storage and access, and 28.0% (95% CI 21.5% to 35.7%) cited intended use for guns as factors affecting perceived safety. For the neighborhood scenario, respondents overwhelmingly cited gun owner characteristics (72.1%, 95% CI 63.4% to 79.3%). Factors on which "it depends" varied by gun ownership status.
conclusionPerceived safety when firearms are in the home depends on numerous factors. Understanding these factors may inform tailored, targeted messaging and interventions for firearm injury prevention.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.