The Link Between Mental Illness and Firearm Violence: Implications for Social Policy and Clinical Practice

Abstract

The United States has substantially higher levels of firearm violence than most other developed countries. Firearm violence is a significant and preventable public health crisis. Mental illness is a weak risk factor for violence despite popular misconceptions reflected in the media and policy. That said, mental health professionals play a critical role in assessing their patients for violence risk, counseling about firearm safety, and guiding the creation of rational and evidence-based public policy that can be effective in mitigating violence risk without unnecessarily stigmatizing people with mental illness. This article summarizes existing evidence about the interplay among mental illness, violence, and firearms, with particular attention paid to the role of active symptoms, addiction, victimization, and psychosocial risk factors. The social and legal context of firearm ownership is discussed as a preface to exploring practical, evidence-driven, and behaviorally informed policy recommendations for mitigating firearm violence risk.

What role does serious mental illness play in mass shootings, and how should we address it?

“…Here, we address actual policy initiatives designed to restrict access to firearms for people with mental illness. Given detailed reviews available elsewhere (e.g., McGinty et al., , Rozel & Mulvey, , Swanson et al., )—and the fact that the generalizability of this information to mass violence is unclear—we provide a targeted summary here.…”

“…First, background checks often fail to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals who are prohibited from owning them. Although this is partly because of problems with implementing background checks, two other dynamics are at play: (a) Guns can be purchased without a background check from a private party, online, or at a gun show; and (b) guns are already in plentiful supply in U.S. households (see Rozel & Mulvey, ).…”

“…As a result, mental health professionals will have to develop standards of care to help clinicians identify, prioritize, and monitor cases that are genuinely (not stereotypically) at risk for proximate violence (Skeem & Mulvey, ) and to become proficient with firearm access and safety practices (Rozel & Mulvey, ) as well as lethal means reduction (NCBH, ). Clinicians will also have to become adept at methods for keeping individuals engaged in services.…”

Risk factors for youth violence: Youth violence commission, International Society For Research On Aggression (ISRA)

“… Easy access to guns. Numerous studies have shown that easy access to guns is a strong risk factor for violence (Chapman, Alpers, Agho, & Jones, ; Rozel & Mulvey, ; Siegel, Ross, & King, ). Research has also shown that stricter gun laws reduce gun‐related deaths around the world (Santaella‐Tenorio, Cerdá, Villaveces, & Galea, ).…”

The False Connection Between Mass Violence and Mental Illness Redux

“…It is also wrong. 1 Study after study shows that those who live with serious mental illness are far more likely to be the victims of violence rather than the perpetrators. 1 The narrative is, however, complicated because mental illness is associated with a statistically significant increase in violence, but accounts for only 4% of violent acts.…”