Correlation Between Mental Illness and Mass Shooting
Research Question
How does mental illness cause gun violence and a mass shooting in American politics?
Annotated Bibliography
Duxbury, S. W., Frizzell, L. C., & Lindsay, S. L. (2018). Mental illness, the media, and the moral politics of mass violence: The role of race in mass shootings coverage. Journal of research in crime and delinquency, 55(6), 766-797.
Political analysts Duxbury, Frizzell, and Lindsay, analyzed the connection between mental illness and mass shooting, and the relationship between media to mass violence in the United States. Drawing on information from the journal of research in crime and delinquency, the authors consider whether mental illness among individuals accounts for the numerous cases of a mass shooting in the United States. In their study, the authors explain that mental illness among individuals often increases the risks of several forms of violence, despite the absolute risk remaining low.
The research conducted established that at least 23% of mass shooting incidents that occurred in the United States are as a result of mental illness. From the article, mental illness is not directly correlated to mass shooting, ad; as a result, I will use the provided statistics in the research to help analyze my research hypothesis in trying to establish how specifically mental illness cause gun violence and a mass shooting in the American politics.
Skeem, J., & Mulvey, E. (2019). What role does severe mental illness play in mass shootings, and how should we address it? Criminology & Public Policy.
Skeem and Mulvey draw from their research as extensively-published policy specialists, and scrutiny of particular government information, to explain the influence of mental illness to gun violence and mass shooting. They highlight some significant assumptions that back the notion that mental illness contributes to the numerous cases of a mass shooting that are experienced in the United States. Their comparison of mental illness to the instances of gun regulation and a mass shooting in the country gives a useful wake-up to anyone assuming that mass shooting is not associated with psychological wellbeing of an individual.
In their study, Skeem and Mulvey explain that a mentally ill individual is often violent and as a result, can quickly be involved in a mass shooting when they get access to the firearms. The article is of significant importance to my completion of the research project. It certainly provides useful information that will guide me throughout the research process. For instance, their study concludes that there are high chances of mentally ill individuals to get involved in a mass shooting since they are often violent. The conclusion will indeed direct throughout my research.
Yelderman, L. A., Joseph, J. J., & West, M. P. (2019). Mass shootings in the United States: Why mental health and access to firearms are essential.
In this article, Yelderman, Joseph, and West provide an argument on why mental illness and access to firearms contributes to the increased cases of a mass shooting in the United States. They give a brief history of various examples of a mass shooting in the country with the primary causes. From their argument, they hold that the majority of the mass shooting acts in the country were as a result of violent behaviour. Consequently, Yelderman alludes that mental illness often triples violent behaviour among individuals. From the study, Yelderman, Joseph, and West provide a case where two-thirds of suspects in a mass public attack where several people were harmed were experiencing mental challenges. The study concludes that mental illness significantly contributes to violent behaviours among individuals, which in turn cause mass shooting in the United States. The article will be of great value to my research since it provides statistics on various cases of mass shootings that are associated with mental difficulties.