Bernstein et al. (2019) report that ethnic minorities in urban settings experience the majority of deaths due to gun violence in the U.S. In fact, firearm mortality is now the leading cause of death for young African American males between the ages of 15 and 34 (Payton et al., 2015). Black Americans had the highest death rate due to guns at 13.76 per 100,000, followed by Hispanics at 3.40 per 100,000 and then Whites at 1.41 per 100,000. As a consequence, Blacks and Latinos have the highest likelihood of experiencing gun violence, with 42% of Blacks, 21% of Hispanics, and 15% of Whites reporting that they have known someone affected by gun violence. A psychological consequence of these sobering statistics is that 75% of Hispanics, 62% of Blacks, and 30% of Whites report that they have anxiety regarding being the victim of gun violence. Correll et al. (2002) report that Black individuals are also more likely to be shot than Whites by law enforcement in the same circumstances when ambiguity requires officers to make time pressured decisions.
The above statistics point to not only the disproportionate ethnic consequences of gun violence, but also to the role psychology plays in understanding and treating this multicultural issue. Adding more urgency to psychological and social solutions, legislating politicians overwhelming favor addressing crime and poverty issues at the individual and community level over enacting gun control legislation (Payton et al., 2015). Psychologists have now identified a positive feedback loop between trauma and gun violence where rises in community violence multiplies traumatic stress which in turn further increases violence perpetrated by community members (Lane et al., 2017). This cycle of violence is self-perpetuating and results in high incarceration rates for minorities, further expanding the role of psychologists working in the jail and prison system.
There are other community level social determinants which play a role in the issue of gun violence among ethnic minorities. Lower SES neighborhoods frequently have limited access to health and emergency services resulting in delays to receiving medical treatment and often limited options for psychological treatment. Delays in medical treatment are compounded by longer than average ambulance response times and longer transit times to emergency hospital services. Psychological services are often scarce in lower SES communities, and even when present, are often not covered by insurance policies and therefore too expensive for many community members. In addition, many minorities have stigma associated with asking for help or receiving mental health services, posing a further barrier to treatment. Due to these structural and cultural issues, to a large extent, the mental health needs of communities that regularly experience violence are going unmet.
Future Psychology Directions to Address the Impact of Gun Violence on Minorities
To address the issue of ethnic inequality with respect to gun violence, increases in psychology research, social activism, and evidence-based interventions are required. In addition, efforts to increase awareness are needed to highlight the daily instances of death due to gun violence, beyond the higher visibility and less frequent mass shooting incidents. As previously mentioned, minorities often lack the access and financial means to obtain psychological services. Therefore, there is a need for government funded programs at the community, state, and federal level to finance interventions that not only provide treatment to those who have experienced gun violence, but also to attempt to address the root causes of gun violence before it occurs.
Multi-level interventions that address multiple social determinants and cultural factors are needed to drive the most impact. Some of these upstream interventions could involve early identification of signs that an individual is at risk for gun violence, informing procedures for how to conduct background checks, providing insights to legislative control efforts, and working with parents, teachers, and community members to identify and enact community-based interventions and social support mechanisms. The time for action among psychologists on the issue of gun violence is now. Psychologists will not only need to be knowledgeable regarding gun violence issues but will need to have the multicultural skills and experience to effectively address this important social issue.
References
Bernstein, M., McMillan, J., & Charash, E. (2019). Once in Parkland, a year in Hartford, a weekend in Chicago: Race and resistance in the gun violence prevention movement. Sociological Forum 34(1), 1153-1173.
Correll, J., Park, B., Judd, C. M., & Wittenbrink, B. (2002). The police officer’s dilemma: Using ethnicity to disambiguate potentially threatening individuals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(6), 1314–1329.
Lane, S., Rubinstein, R., Bergen-Cico, D., Jennings-Bey, T., Fish, L., Larsen, D., & Robinson, J. (2017). Neighborhood trauma due to violence: A multilevel analysis. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 28(1), 446–462.
Payton, E., Thompson, A., Price, J., Sheu, J., & Dake, J. (2015). African American legislators’ perceptions of firearm violence prevention legislation. Journal of Community Health, 40, 439-447.