Citation

Swanson JW, Sampson NA, Petukhova MV, Zaslavsky AM, Appelbaum PS, Swartz MS, Kessler RC. Behav. Sci. Law 2015; 33(2-3): 199-212.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/bsl.2172

PMID

25850688

Abstract

Analyses from the National Comorbidity Study Replication provide the first nationally representative estimates of the co-occurrence of impulsive angry behavior and possessing or carrying a gun among adults with and without certain mental disorders and demographic characteristics. The study found that a large number of individuals in the United States self-report patterns of impulsive angry behavior and also possess firearms at home (8.9%) or carry guns outside the home (1.5%). These data document associations of numerous common mental disorders and combinations of angry behavior with gun access. Because only a small proportion of persons with this risky combination have ever been involuntarily hospitalized for a mental health problem, most will not be subject to existing mental health-related legal restrictions on firearms resulting from a history of involuntary commitment. Excluding a large proportion of the general population from gun possession is also not likely to be feasible. Behavioral risk-based approaches to firearms restriction, such as expanding the definition of gun-prohibited persons to include those with violent misdemeanor convictions and multiple DUI convictions, could be a more effective public health policy to prevent gun violence in the population. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Language: en