A Deeper Understanding of the Intersection of Firearms and Health

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract/Description

Gun violence affects millions of Americans each year and the CDC recently observed the highest number of firearm-related deaths in nearly 40 years. Efforts to address this issue are grounded across multiple disciplines, which increasingly includes considering gun violence from a public health perspective. Adopting a multidisciplinary public health approach to studying gun violence highlights violence as a modifiable risk rather than an unchangeable problem. This panel investigates the intersection between firearms and health from a several perspectives, which include health consequences of firearm exposure and abuse in the context of intimate partner violence, health-related correlates of firearm ownership, and the implementation of domestic violence firearm policy. Implications for polices and multidisciplinary strategies to reduce gun violence and increase responsible firearm use will be discussed.

Sub Unit

• Area IV. Correlates of Crime / 25. Weapons

Individual Presentations

• Health Consequences of Firearm-Related Abuse and Exposure in the Context of Intimate Partner Violence Victimization - Kellie Lynch, The University of Texas at San Antonio; Dylan B. Jackson, The University of Texas at San Antonio

• Gun Access, Gun Violence, and Substance Use in Emerging Adults: A Latent Class Analysis - Yu Lu, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; Jeff Temple, University of Texas Medical Branch

• Guns are for Cowards?: A Test of Competing Hypotheses Concerning Gun Ownership and Fear - Benjamin Dowd-Arrow, Florida State University; Terrence D. Hill, The University of Arizona; Amy M. Burdette, Florida State University

• The Implementation of Domestic Violence Firearm Policy in New Jersey - Michael K. Gusmano, Rutgers University