Safer Still (Exploratory Project 3)

Safer Still (EP3)- An Interactive Intervention Adjunct to Traditional Care for Adolescents Who Are Discharged From Psychiatric Hospitals and Living in Households Where Firearms Are Stored Unsafely.

The long-term goal is to decrease suicide and suicidal behaviors in at-risk youth through preventative interventions. Investigators propose to develop an interactive intervention ("Safer Still") to help promote safe storage of firearms during the critical period immediately following high-risk care transitions. The objective of this study is to develop and test the Safer Still intervention as an efficient adjunct to traditional care for adolescents aged 12-17 years who are discharged from psychiatric hospitals and living in households where firearms are stored unsafely.

The objective of this study is to develop and test the Safer Still intervention as an efficient adjunct to traditional care for adolescents aged 12-17 years who are discharged from psychiatric hospitals and living in households where firearms are stored unsafely. Exploratory aims of the study are as follows: (1) Evaluate parental motivation to change firearm storage behavior as a potential mediator of the three-month intervention effect. Investigators hypothesize that higher change scores in the "action" stage of the readiness to change model1 at one month will mediate the intervention effect at three months; (2) Identify whether the response to the Safer Still intervention varies by adolescent history of suicide attempt and parental primary reason for firearm ownership at one and three months; and (3) Ascertain common parental reasons for declining to safely store firearms.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Parent or legal guardian of an adolescent aged 12 to 17 years at time of consent
• Have a child who is receiving psychiatric inpatient, crisis, or emergency treatment at Nationwide Children's Hospital
• Indicate that at least one firearm is located in or around the residence of the adolescent and is stored unlocked, loaded, or both unlocked and loaded.
• Only one parent per household is permitted to participate to avoid contamination across the two study conditions.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Inability to speak/read English
• Lack access to a digital device (smartphone, iPad, tablet computer, desktop, laptop PC).