STEP 4 AND 5

Mass Shootings

JUST300-06

Leslie Garcia

December 3, 2018

STEP 1:

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.

​The 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.

Step 2 : Creating Hypotheses and Operationalizing Variables:

1. Incidents with a higher count for total victims injured or killed will have more media coverage than incidents with lower counts for total victims injured or killed (Muschert, 2007) Direction is positive

2. Dependent variable- media coverage

3. For inquiry into a school shooting. The Independent variables included; Students injured Teachers injured, Staff/admin injured, Officers injured

4. Null hypothesis - The author hypothesized that the total number of victims injured or killed will have no effect on media coverage for an incident.

5. Incidents involving a female offender will receive more media coverage than incidents involving a male offender. (Pritchard & Hughes 1997) Direction is positive

6. Dependent variable- media coverage

7. Independent variables- Offender sex

8. Null hypothesis- The author’s hypothesized that offender gender will have no effect on media coverage for an incident.

Step 3: Sampling

Probability

1. Incidents with a higher count for total victims injured or killed will have more media coverage than incidents with lower counts for total victims injured or killed (Muschert, 2007) Direction is positive

2. The paper presents a case of school shooting. Target populations is students

3. To obtain a sample frame, a list of registered students was obtained hence list frame.

4. The drawback to this sample frame is that some students must have changed school when the incident happened. To overcome the drawback, the list must be current

5. Random sampling – it is less complicated compared to other methods (Pedhazur & Schmelkin, 1991)

6. With several random samples from the same population, it is observed that the random sample is typically representative of the population hence it can be generalised.

Non- probability

1. The author’s hypothesized that offender gender will have no effect on media coverage for an incident

2. For case processing of offenders of school shootings. Target population is offenders

3. Non-sampling error, particularly under-coverage of important population sub-groups

4. Random sampling- the sample represent the target population

5. It is easy to generalise with random sampling once the researcher has made several samples from the same population.

6. There are no ethical concerns for this study, as the findings of the study have no direct effect on the offenders of the school shooting incidents. However, since the study involve media, there is a possibility of public backlash (Scharrer et al,2003).