STEP 2 and 3

Mass Shootings

Leslie Garcia

JUST 300-01

10/07/19

 

Cabrera, J. F., & Kwon, R. (2018). Income Inequality, Household Income, and Mass Shooting in

the United States. Frontiers in Public Health, 6, 294.

​The authors hypothesized that there is a positive relationship between income inequality and

mass shootings. Furthermore, these authors also hypothesize that mass shootings vary based on

regional locations. The authors of these articles aimed at extending the previous research that

finds stronger evidence regarding the positive relations between income inequality and mass

shootings. Authors of the study employed previous research that finds a strong positive

relationship between income inequality and mass shootings through examining the impact of the

family's income and the association between inequality and income. In order to perform the

analysis regarding the effects of the family’s income and the interaction between inequality and

income, authors compiled data from 3,144 nations from 1990 to 2015. The outcome of this study

indicates that even though the income inequality and income alone are the predictors of the mass

shootings, the impacts of mass shootings are stronger when combining via interaction. The

results also show the highest number of shootings are those that combine both high levels of

inequality and high levels of income. To handle the epidemic issue of mass shootings, it is

important to have a clear understanding of how to tackle the rise in inequality and unstable

environments which leads to the existence of inequality.​This study is important since it gives

some of the reasons why there are high incidences of a mass shooting in some regions as

compared to others. Therefore, it gives a direct solution to ensure that there is equal distribution

of resources and equal employment opportunities to ensure that the issue of mass shootings is

dealt with. This study also indicates that effective solutions to mass shootings need to involve the

understanding of the main causes of mass shootings.

 

Lowe, S. R., & Galea, S. (2017). The Mental Health Consequences of Mass Shootings. Trauma,

Violence, & Abuse , 18 (1), 62-82.

​Authors of this study hypothesized that mass shooting leads to adverse psychological outcomes

among the survivors and the members of the community affected. Another hypothesis is that

there is little knowledge regarding the adverse psychological impacts of mass shootings on the

exposed individuals. A total of 49 peer-reviewed articles which consisted of 27 independent

samples following 15 mass shooting cases were used. The author's employed peer-reviewed

research methods to select samples. The key findings of the study are that mass shootings are

associated with various adverse psychological impacts in the survivors as well as the members of

the affected families. Risk factors for the negative psychological outcome include demographic

and the pre-incident features related to the female gender and the pre-incident emotional

symptoms; exposure and limited psychosocial resources, for example, the mental control

challenges and reduced social help.​This study is important for this particular topic since it helps

in revealing how individuals are psychologically affected following mass shootings. Based on

this study, mass shootings are resulting in increased fear and reduction In the perception of

security for the individuals who have been exposed to mass shootings. This study is also

important since it shows that there are risk and protective factors, for example, the demographic

features, the pre-event trauma exposure and functioning, exposure to the incidence, and

psychosocial resources. Therefore, to help the victims of mass shootings, it is essential to

understand the importance of post-incident intervention to help in reducing the mental health

effects caused by mass shootings.

 

Perera, I. M., & Sisti, D. A. (2019). Mass Shootings and Psychiatric Deinstitutionalization, Here

and Abroad. American Journal of Public Health, 109 (3), S176-S177.

The hypothesis of this article is that America’s mental health system requires significant repair.

Deinstitutionalization contributes to the increase in cases of mass shootings in the United States .

The authors aimed at looking at the issue of mass shootings and psychiatric deinstitutionalization

in the United States and other parts of the world, therefore, authors targeted some of the reported

cases and individuals who have been involved in the mass shootings in the United States and

other parts of the world. Therefore, the research work was based on looking at some of the past

studies and the authors employed a statistical descriptive approach to perform this study. The

findings of the study reveal that the American mental health system requires repair. There is a

need to increase psychiatric hospital ability to help in ensuring that people with serious mental

issues are helped. ​While comparing this article to the first article, it is clear that it is not only the

income and inequalities that increase mass shootings but also the mental deinstitutionalization.

This study clearly shows that it is important to assess the mental well-being of the individuals

suspected to be at high risk of being involved in the mass shootings to prevent the future increase

in the number of deaths. It recommends that re-opening of the psychiatric institutions can help in

the prevention of mass shootings.

 

Ping-I, L., Fei, L., Barzman, D., & Hossain, M. (2018). What Have We Learned From the Time

Trend of Mass Shootings in the U.S.? Plos One, 13 (10).

​The first hypothesis by the authors is that the higher online media coverage density following the

mass shootings incidence is linked to the shorter interval between the incident and the next one.

Gun law permissiveness can influence gun ownership and shooting rate hence it is considered as

a confounder. Authors of this article selected 100 mass shootings from Mother Jones; a website

that occurred from January 1982 to May 2018. The authors of this article utilized the Poisson

Model for the state-specific incidence count with over covariate impacts to determine the effects

of state-level gun possession rate on the mass shootings. The key outcome of this study shows

that the incidences of mass shootings continue to increase. There are also several state-level

variables that are believed to be influencing the incidences of mass shootings. This study is

crucial since it shows some of the contributory factors to the increase in the incidences of mass

shootings. It also shows that population-level aspects such as severe psychological illness,

poverty, and gun law tolerance are influencing the rates of the mass shooting at the state level.

 

Santaella-Tenorio, J., Cerda, M., Villaveces, A., & Galea, S. (2016). What Do We Know About

the Association Between Firearm Legislation and Firearm-Related Injuries? Epidemiological

Reviews, 38 (1), 140-157.

​The hypothesis of the authors of this article is that firearms are contributing to a substantial

percentage of the external causes of death, injuries, and disability in the entire world. Absence in

the clarity on the effectiveness of the interventions leads to more problems when it comes to the

development of policy. Authors of this article used around 130 past studies published from 1950

to 2014 in 10 nations. Authors reviewed studies that explored the links between the

firearm-related laws and firearm homicides, suicides, and unintentional injuries or deaths. The

key findings from this study are that firearms are contributing to a considerable percentage of

factors that lead to deaths, injuries, and disability. Laws that are set to help in the regulation of

firearms have been adopted to reduce the problems associated with firearm use. There is a lack

of clarity regarding effective interventions and this still continues to cause more issues in

developing policy. Based on the outcome of this study, the implementation of laws aimed at

restricting firearms has helped to reduced firearm deaths in some nations.This study is important

since it shows how the existence of laws that limit the number or types of people being allowed

to own firearms is helping in the reduction of deaths related to the use of firearms. Therefore, the

issue of mass shootings can also be handled or addressed by setting the rule to control the

possession of firearms by individuals.