Casie H. Morgan

Unintentional pediatric firearm-related injuries constitute a public health challenge. This cross-sectional research study examines how children’s experience with firearms, parent-level supervision and training, and youth exposure to firearms is associated with youths’ knowledge about and behavior with firearms. One hundred sixty-three children aged 10–12, all with firearm exposure, and their parents participated. Self-report data from youth and parents on youth firearm experience and knowledge; family firearm use and storage; and how children were supervised and trained to use firearms served as independent variables in age- and sex-adjusted generalized linear models. Children’s knowledge about firearm safety, intended behavior in response to stories, and simulated behavior in both hunting and shooting range scenarios were outcome variables. Children who reported their families owned firearms for shooting had higher firearm safety knowledge ( p = 0.01) and made safer clothing choices in simulation scenarios (OR = 2.30, p = 0.02). Family lessons about firearm safety were associated with safer clothing choices and fewer unsafe shots in simulation ( p = 0.01). Children who self-reported experience hunting without adult supervision had increased time unsafe in hunting simulation (MD = 5.09, p = 0.02). Parent-reported data showed similar patterns. Additionally, per parent report, children with more firearm experience displayed greater knowledge about safety ( p = 0.01) and increased safe clothing selection in simulations. Children with more firearm experience generally demonstrated more knowledge and safer simulated behavior. Youth who self-reported hunting without adult supervision took more risks in hunting simulations. Multifaceted strategies that include increased adult supervision and youth safety training could reduce unintentional youth firearms injuries.

Background: Pediatric pedestrian injury is a major public health concern. Children’s perceived abilities correlate with behavior across many pediatric behavioral health contexts, but this association is untested regarding pedestrian safety. Objective: If children’s perceptions relate to behavior in pedestrian settings, there are implications for targeted intervention. We evaluated associations between parent and child perceptions of children’s street-crossing ability with actual abilities within a virtual reality (VR) pedestrian platform. Methods: As part of a larger clinical trial, 497 children aged 7–8 years participated in baseline pedestrian skill assessments and subsequent virtual reality training sessions. Training terminated when children achieved adult competency. Outcomes included baseline unsafe crossings and number of visits to reach adult competency. Baseline perceptions of children’s ability were assessed via parent and child self-report. Linear regression models were completed for each outcome, with parent perception, child perception, child age, and child sex as predictors. Results: The first linear regression demonstrated significant associations between baseline unsafe crossings and both parent perception of real-world crossings (β=-0.10771, p <.05) and child age (β=-0.18288, p <.01). A second linear regression examining the number of training visits required to achieve adult competency also identified significant associations between parent perception of real-world crossings (β=-0.13499, p <.01) and child age (β=-0.13927, p <.01). Conclusions: Parents’ perceptions of children’s abilities are significantly associated with children’s pedestrian skills, whereas children’s own perceptions show less consistent and non‑significant associations. Prioritizing youth voices alongside educating parents about pedestrian safety risks may offer complementary and effective strategies to support children to become safe, active pedestrians. Clinical Trial Registration: The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier NCT02948400.

Importance: Mass violence incidents (MVIs) occur at alarming rates in the US. MVIs have immense impact on direct survivors and broader communities; less is known about worry or avoidance behaviors related to concerns about future MVIs. Objective: To examine the association between media consumption and worry and avoidance behaviors related to concerns about future MVIs in individuals living in communities that experienced an MVI. Design, Setting, and Participants: In this cross-sectional study, a survey was completed from February 1 to September 31, 2020, by a household probability sample of adults from 6 communities that experienced an MVI from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2019. Participants were not present at the MVI but reported consuming MVI-related media coverage within 1 month of the event. Address-based sampling was used. Of 6867 participants who accessed the survey, 87.2% completed the survey, 6.5% were ineligible, and 6.3% did not finish the survey. Data analysis was performed from December 2024 to May 2025. Main Outcomes and Measures: The following outcomes were assessed via the self-report survey: (1) worry about future MVIs and (2) avoidance of public places or large crowds because of such worries. Results: A total of 5141 participants (mean [SD] age, 46.2 [17.5] years; unweighted number [weighted percentage]: 3581 [54.2%] female) completed the survey; an unweighted number (weighted percentage) of 3383 (65.5%) reported worrying about future MVIs and 1447 (28.5%) reported avoiding public places due to MVI-related concerns. In weighted multilevel logistic models, greater media consumption was associated with higher odds of worrying about future MVIs (odds ratio, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.31-1.46) and avoidance of public places (odds ratio, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.26-1.40). Media source moderated the association between media consumption and worry but not the association between media consumption and avoidance. Exposure to potentially traumatic events moderated neither association. Conclusions and Relevance: In this cross-sectional study of adults from communities impacted by MVIs, many respondents reported avoiding public places due to concerns of future MVIs, and most reported worrying about future attacks; amount of media consumption was associated with greater risk of these outcomes. These findings can inform the dissemination of information on MVIs and education on consumption of media information; such efforts may mitigate the development of psychological disorders in adults from these communities.

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Supervisor Self-Assessment Tool (DEI-SST) was developed to help psychology supervisors reflect on their supervisory practices regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Society of Pediatric Psychology’s Anti-racism Workgroup, Training Subgroup, adapted a preexisting psychology course syllabus evaluation tool for self-assessment in supervision to include aspects of clinical training, the APA multicultural guidelines, and the domains from the APA Guidelines for Clinical Supervision in Health Service Psychology. Following an expert review of the modified tool, the tool was administered in three settings, and qualitative themes were extracted from participant feedback. All participants ( N = 38) endorsed that the DEI-SST helped them reflect on their supervisory practice. No participants provided feedback on the wording of the tool. All participants identified at least one area of supervision they had not considered previously. Suggested improvements to the tool included reducing the length of the tool, expanding the examples provided within each developmental stage, and including resources to enhance supervision. The DEI-SST shows promise to help supervisors incorporate aspects of DEI into their supervision that they may not have previously done. It provides a starting point for further growth needed to improve their practice. Future directions include investigating best practices for tool administration and a continued review of tool content to reflect advances in equitable and inclusive supervisory practices.

This randomized trial evaluated ShootSafe, a theory-based website using a graphic novel storyline, educational and testimonial videos, and games, to teach firearms safety to children aged 10 to 12 years. A total of 163 youths participated. Linear mixed models found that youths randomized to ShootSafe demonstrated greater knowledge, safer behavioral intentions, and safer simulated hunting behaviors following training and at four-month follow-up compared with the control condition. Broad dissemination could reduce risk of unintentional pediatric firearms injury and death. Trial Registration. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT4622943. ( Am J Public Health. 2025;115(12): 1971–1977. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2025.308267 )

Experiences of cyber-sexual violence, that is, sexually aggressive behaviors committed through digital interfaces, are associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and suicidality. Several variables, including sleep, also contribute to PTSS and suicidality risk. This cross-sectional study expands what is already known about cyber-sexual violence and psychological distress by investigating associations between cyber-sexual victimization, sleep-related concerns, PTSS, and suicidality among diverse university students. A total of 2,160 university students aged 18–25 ( M _age = 20.09 years, 68.8 percent women) completed assessments of demographic variables, cyber-sexual victimization, PTSS, suicidality, and sleep-related concerns. Students with marginalized sexual or gender identities reported significantly higher levels of cyber-sexual victimization, sleep-related concerns, PTSS, and suicidality compared with heterosexual and cisgender students. Two mediation analyses were conducted with cyber-sexual victimization as the independent variable, PTSS and suicidality as the outcomes, sleep-related concerns as a mediator, and gender identity and sexual orientation as covariates. Cyber-sexual victimization was directly related to PTSS (β = 0.37, CI = [3.88, 4.86]) and sleep-related concerns mediated this association (β = 0.07, CI = [0.06, 0.09]). Cyber-sexual victimization was also directly related to suicidality (β = 0.31, CI = [1.30, 1.71]) and sleep-related concerns mediated this association (β = 0.05, CI = [0.03, 0.06]) as well. These findings highlight cyber-sexual violence as a risk factor for poorer psychological well-being among university students. In addition, sleep-related concerns helped explain these associations, suggesting that evidence-based sleep interventions may improve psychological distress in the context of trauma-related symptoms.

Objective: Autistic children have higher unintentional injury risk than typically developing children, but little is known about how parents succeed or struggle in keeping their autistic children safe from injury. Qualitative methods evaluated the concerns of unintentional injury prevention experienced by mothers of autistic children and the impact of these strategies on maternal quality of life. Methods: Fifteeen mothers ( M _age = 37.80 years) of autistic children participated in a semi-structured interview addressing child characteristics, injury concerns and experiences, and injury prevention strategies and resources. Interviews were transcribed and coded in NVivo following a systematic, inductive approach. Results: Mothers of autistic children have significant concerns regarding child injury prevention, leading to increased feelings of parental responsibility and need for constant supervision of their autistic child. The sustainability of safety strategies that encompass supervision, such as proximity and control, were concerning to mothers. The dominant role of supervision leads to reports of exhaustion and increased cognitive load. Despite this, the mothers reported these efforts were necessary to prevent injury in their child. Conclusions: By evaluating the lived experiences of mothers with autistic children, this study identified maternal responsibility and supervision as the most critical and most demanding aspects of child injury prevention. Clinicians working with families who have autistic children should consider encouraging parents to proactively develop effective and practical safety interventions to reduce child injury risk as well as reducing caregiver stress.

In the present study, we analyzed qualitative survey data from 538 school psychologists across schools in the United States regarding their perceptions of school safety issues and potential strategies to address school safety. There are only a few studies exploring the experiences and perspectives of school psychologists that have been based on large-scale qualitative data. Using inductive coding, three themes for safety concerns emerged: (a) aggressive behaviors from students, (b) mental and behavioral needs, and (c) limited staffing. Three themes also emerged for potential solutions: (a) professional development/training, (b) school–family–community relationships, and (c) threat assessments. These findings from school psychologists have implications for addressing structural issues to prevent school violence in research and practice. Policy recommendations to inform resource allocation and improve school safety are discussed.