Early exposure to violence linked to later firearm use

An analysis of data from a 10-year longitudinal study of emerging adults found that individuals who experienced physical abuse during childhood were more likely to report both being threatened with a firearm and threatening another person with one. Those who reported living in more dangerous neighborhoods and witnessing greater violence between their parents were also more likely to carry firearms and to have threatened someone with one. The findings were published in Psychological Reports.

Firearms are the leading cause of death among children, teenagers, and emerging adults in the United States. In 2021 alone, there were more than 10,000 firearm-related deaths in this age group, with over half classified as homicides. Rates of firearm homicides among young people have been increasing for the past two decades, making it a significant public health concern.

Behaviors related to firearms—such as carrying a gun or using it to threaten or harm others—raise the risk of serious injury or death. Approximately 5–10% of teenagers and emerging adults report carrying a firearm each year, with rates varying across different groups. Teenagers who own firearms are more likely to engage in firearm violence as adults. About 3% of high-risk young adults report having threatened someone with a firearm, a behavior that increases the likelihood of fatal outcomes during violent encounters.

Experiencing firearm-related threats or injuries is associated with long-term physical and mental health problems. Young people who have been threatened with a gun are more likely to later engage in gun violence themselves, highlighting the importance of early prevention.

Melissa C. Osborne and her colleagues conducted the study to examine whether early experiences of violence were related to later firearm-related behaviors and encounters. They focused on three main factors: childhood physical abuse, exposure to neighborhood violence during early childhood, and witnessing interpersonal violence in the home. The researchers proposed that these early experiences might lead individuals to feel a greater need for self-protection, become more likely to associate with deviant peer groups, and internalize the idea that violence and firearms are normal—factors that could shape their future behaviors involving guns.

The researchers used data from an ongoing longitudinal study involving 1,042 participants who were initially recruited at age 15 and were in their mid-twenties during the most recent data collection. The participants were drawn from seven public high schools across five urban and suburban school districts in the southern United States. At the time of the last survey, the average participant age was 25.

Participants were asked about firearm-related behaviors, including how often they had carried a gun in the past 12 months (“Within the past 12 months, about how often would you say you’ve carried a gun with you when you were outside your home – including in your car?”), whether they had ever threatened someone with a gun, and whether they had ever been threatened with a gun themselves.

The study also assessed childhood physical abuse using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire – Short Form, exposure to parental violence using the Family of Origin Violence Questionnaire, experiences of bullying (“How often have you been bullied in the past 12 months?”), and perceptions of neighborhood violence (e.g., “People are scared of being robbed in my neighborhood”).

The results showed that individuals who reported experiencing more physical abuse in childhood were more likely to report both being threatened with a gun and threatening others with one. Those who witnessed more violence between their parents and those who reported greater neighborhood violence were more likely to carry firearms and to have threatened someone with a firearm. In contrast, being bullied was not significantly associated with any of the firearm-related outcomes.

“We found that early exposure to violence predicted later firearm-related behaviors and experiences. Findings further emphasize the importance of primary prevention of violence in homes and communities to address violence-related outcomes in emerging adults,” the study authors concluded.

The study sheds light on the links between early experiences and later relationship with firearms. However, it should be noted that all study participants come from a single region of the United States. Additionally, all data came from self-reports leaving room for reporting bias to have affected the results.

The paper, “Examining the Relation Between Early Violence Exposure and Firearm-Related Experiences in Emerging Adulthood: A Longitudinal Cohort Study,” was authored by Melissa C. Osborne, Dennis E. Reidy, Jeff R. Temple, Annalyn DeMello, and Yu Lu.