Angry, Impulsive and Violent People Own Guns

A new study has found that 9% of Americans have a history of angry, impulsive, violent behaviour and own a gun.

It is the first study of its kind to link a history of violent behaviour with gun ownership. It suggests that measures to reduce gun violence and gun death should focus less on diagnosed mental illness and more on those with a history of violent behaviour.

Furthermore, people who owned six or more guns were more likely to have a history of violent and impulsive behaviour than those who owned only one.

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The study was published in Behavioural Sciences and the Law.

Abstract:

Quote:

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.

via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/1KT5F49