Work

Mental health consequences of exposure to mass and non-mass shootings in a national sample of US adults

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Gun violence exposure is a major public health issue in the United States, yet its mental health consequences remain insufficiently examined. This study investigates the short- and long-term psychological self-reported impacts of lifetime gun violence exposure using a cross-sectional survey of 10,000 respondents designed to be representative of US adults administered online by YouGov in January 2024. Findings revealed that 20.1% of respondents reported a mass shooting in their community, 18.3% had been threatened with a firearm, and 2.2% and 2.4% were injured in mass and non-mass shootings, respectively. Between 58.6% and 94.4% reported mental health consequences across exposure types, with younger individuals and women particularly vulnerable. While mass shootings corresponded with greater psychological distress, the long-term impacts, including post-traumatic stress, were reported at a higher rate following non-mass shootings. These findings promote trauma-informed public health interventions tailored to both individual and community-level needs in the aftermath of gun violence. This study reports short-term and long-term mental health outcomes across several forms of firearm violence exposure using data from an online survey of 10,000 US respondents administered by YouGov and identifies vulnerable groups.

Source: Nature Mental Health

DOI: 10.1038/s44220-025-00413-7

Authors: Jillian K. Peterson, James A. Densley, David C. Pyrooz

Institutions: Hamline University, Metropolitan State University, University of Colorado Boulder

Language: English

Topic: Gun Ownership and Violence Research

Subfield: Health

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $12,690