Mental illness is the wrong scapegoat after mass shootings, experts say
Friday, December 12, 2014 - 16:32
in Psychology & Sociology
In the shadow of the two year anniversary of one of the worst mass shootings in American history, at Sandy Hook Elementary School, an extensive new study challenges common assumptions about gun violence and mental illness that often emerge in the aftermath of mass shootings. When a mass shooting occurs there seems to be a familiar narrative that untreated mental illness is the primary cause for the terrifying act. But a new study finds that an isolated focus on mental illness is misguided. There are 32,000 gun deaths in the United States on average every year and people are far more likely to be shot by relatives, friends or acquaintances than they are by lone violent psychopaths, according to the researchers.