The analysis, reported in the April issue of the American Journal of Public Health, is based on data from 1994 interviews conducted in tens of thousands of households by the National Center for Health Statistics. The researchers found that 35 percent of homes with children, in all some 22 million children less than 18 years old in more than 11 million homes, had at least one firearm. Fewer than half of these families--39 percent--kept their firearms locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition.

Southerners are more likely than residents of other regions to have firearms unlocked and loaded or with ammunition. Households with teenagers are more likely to store firearms in this careless fashion than those with younger children.

"The fact that at least one major gun manufacturer is going to be building safer firearms is good news," stated Dr. Mark Schuster, a pediatrician and lead author of the study. "But it's still the responsibility of parents and other adults to keep firearms out of their children's hands."

In another RAND study appearing in the April issue, researchers find that deviant behavior in seventh grade (such as stealing or getting in trouble in school), poor grades and weak bonds with middle school predicted violent behavior five years later. So did attendance at a middle school with comparatively high levels of cigarette and marijuana use. Data for the study--an effort to identify early behavior that predicts subsequent adolescent violence and therefore suggests potential school-based interventions--came from a self-report survey of more than 4,300 California and Oregon high school seniors and dropouts.

"What these warning signals tell us is that violence prevention programs should begin as early as elementary school and should include a focus on minimizing troublesome behavior in school and on poor academic performance," observes lead author Dr. Phyllis L. Ellickson. "Middle school drug prevention programs may also contribute to violence reduction."

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