A Year in Gun Violence Research (2021)

February 22, 2022
By Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium

The Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium includes public health, social science, and policy experts located across the country who are dedicated to studying the root causes of gun violence and offering evidence-based policy solutions designed to reduce firearm-based violence in the United States. This year-end report highlights some of the studies, analyses, and reports published by members of the Consortium in 2021. An asterisk (*) denotes that an author is a member of the Consortium.

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Community Violence

+ Rochester Homicide Statistics for 2020. (Irshad Altheimer*; John Klofas*; Libnah Rodriguez; Trinity McFadden, Rochester Institute of Technology, Jan. 2021.)

In this report, the authors examined homicide statistics in Rochester, New York, in the year 2020. Using data collected from local news media websites and publicly available information displayed by police departments, the report discusses fluctuations in homicide rates within the city of Rochester, while also comparing homicide rates with more than 20 other American cities in 2019 and 2020. In completing such comparisons, the authors found that among the 24 cities whose rates were used for analysis, Indianapolis, Indiana, and Atlanta, Georgia, saw the largest single-year increases in their homicide rates, at 122.4 percent and 116.2 percent, respectively. Rochester, New York, ranked as the fifth largest single-year increase among the 24 cities, with a 63 percent jump in its homicide rate from 2019 to 2020.

+ The Survivor Network: The Role of Shared Experiences in Mass Shootings Recovery. (Jaclyn Schildkraut*; Evelyn S. Sokolowski; John Nicoletti, Victims & Offenders, Jan. 2021.)

This article explores the impact of internal social support networks for victims of mass shootings, where individuals with shared experiences, such as living through a traumatic event, are able to help each other through the recovery process. Using qualitative data gleaned from interviews with survivors of mass shooting events, the authors found that informal survivor networks can provide effective support systems for victims.

+ Community-Engaged and Informed Violence Prevention Interventions. (Shaelyn M. Cavanaugh; Charles C Branas*; Margaret K. Formica*, Pediatric Clinics, Apr. 2021.)

The authors discussed the importance of community engagement and an informed approach in community and youth violence prevention strategies—specifically, the importance of addressing different types of violence differently and within the local contexts under which they occur. The authors pointed to the difficult, yet necessary, task of evaluating community programs, and reiterated the necessity of prevention tools—rather than reaction tools—in successfully lowering incidences of community and youth violence.

+ Impact of ShotSpotter Technology on Firearm Homicides and Arrests Among Large Metropolitan Counties: a Longitudinal Analysis, 1999–2016. (Mitchell L. Doucette; Christa Green; Jennifer Necci Dineen*; David Shapiro; Kerri M. Raissian*, Journal of Urban Health, Apr. 2021.)

The authors in this report examined the impact of ShotSpotter gunfire detection technology on the incidences of firearm homicides and arrests, focusing on the impact of ShotSpotter technology in over 60 counties from 1999-2016. Using mathematical distributions to model ShotSpotter’s impact on gun-related homicides, homicide arrests, and weapons arrests, the authors found that the effectiveness of ShotSpotter technology in reducing the incidence of firearm homicides seemed to correlate with existing firearm laws in a given location. Counties in states with permit-to-purchase firearm laws saw a reduction in firearm homicide incidence rates, while counties in states with right-to-carry laws saw an increase. The researchers also found, however, that use of ShotSpotter technology did not increase or decrease the incidence of homicide arrests or weapons arrests.

+ Community-Level Factors and Incidence of Gun Violence in the United States, 2014–2017. (Blair T. Johnson*; Anthony Sisti; Mary Bernstein*; Kun Chen; Emily A. Hennessy; Rebecca L. Acabchuk; Michaela Matos, Social Science & Medicine, July 2021.)

In an effort to investigate the relationship between community-level factors and incidences of gun violence across the United States, this study used data collected from multiple sources, including the Gun Violence Archive and the United States Census Bureau, and compared it against a model of hypothesized community-level predictors of gun violence to estimate the frequency of incidences of gun violence in a given county. The authors found that urban counties with higher levels of income disparity were more likely to experience elevated rates of gun violence, suggesting that state and community-level features are markedly associated with gun violence.

+ Community Gun Violence Exposure among Urban Youth: An Overlooked Externality of Endemic Gun Violence in the United States. (Pilar Bancalari; Marni Sommer; Sonali Rajan*, Columbia Academic Commons, Nov. 2021.)

This publication reviewed previous studies on the impacts of exposure to community gun violence on the youth living in communities suffering from chronic gun violence, acknowledging that low-income Black and Brown youth are most likely to experience that exposure. In their findings, the authors concluded that exposure is more common in certain communities, with detrimental effects on the youth living in those communities. Additionally, the authors called for future research to further conceptualize the multiple dimensions of gun violence and foster consensus on what qualifies as community gun violence and exposure to that violence.

The Coronavirus Pandemic and Firearms

+ Gun Owners, Opinions, and Policy Opportunities Amid the Pandemic. (Joseph J. Popcun*; Nicholas Simons; Michael Siegel*; Claire Boine, Rockefeller Institute of Government, Jan. 2021.)

In this blog piece published on the Rockefeller Institute of Government’s website, Consortium collaborators broke down findings from research pertaining to the attitudes of gun owners toward firearm violence reduction policies.

+ How Health Care Workers Wield Influence Through Twitter Hashtags: Retrospective Cross-sectional Study of the Gun Violence and COVID-19 Public Health Crises. (Ayotomiwa Ojo; Sharath Chandra Guntuku; Margaret Zheng; Rinad S Beidas; Megan L. Ranney*, JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, Jan. 2021.)

In this study, the authors examined the impact of healthcare workers in influencing conversations surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and conversations about gun violence on social media. Looking at the prevalence of viral hashtags championed by healthcare worker users of the social media site Twitter, the authors found that tweets with healthcare worker-led hashtags, such as #ThisIsOurLane or #GetUsPPE, were more likely to contain healthcare-specific language and more positive, action-oriented content.

+ Suicidal Ideation Among Individuals Who Have Purchased Firearms During COVID-19. (Michael D. Anestis*; Allison E. Bond; Samantha E. Daruwala; Shelby L. Bandel; Craig J. Bryan, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Mar. 2021.)

In another study looking at firearm purchasing trends and purchaser characteristics during the coronavirus pandemic, the authors examined the presence of suicidal ideation among individuals who had purchased a firearm throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and any differences between pandemic purchasers and pre-pandemic purchasers. The authors found that respondents who identified as pandemic purchasers more frequently reported lifetime, past-year, and past-month suicidal ideation than non-firearm owners and firearm owners who did not make a purchase during COVID-19. However, they also found that pandemic purchasers were less likely to use certain unsafe storage methods for their firearms.

+ Dispositional Characteristics in Firearm Ownership and Purchasing Behavior During the 2020 Purchasing Surge. (Joye C. Anestis; Michael D. Anestis*; Olivia C. Preston; Taylor R. Rodriguez, Social Science & Medicine, Nov. 2021.)

The authors in this piece examined threat sensitivity, which is associated with the likelihood of making emotion-based firearm purchases, and disinhibition, which is associated with the motive in purchasing a firearm as a danger and distress management strategy, among different categories of firearm owners and purchasers. Focusing on the presence of those dispositional traits during the 2020 purchasing surge occurring after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the researchers found that firearm owners demonstrated lower threat sensitivity and higher disinhibition than non-firearm owners. They also found that 2020 firearm purchasers had higher disinhibition compared to non-firearm owners and non-purchasing firearm owners, while firearm owners who did not purchase during the pandemic had lower threat sensitivity compared to non-owners and 2020 purchasers.

Firearm Laws

+ A Comparison and Analysis of Seven Gun Law Permissiveness Scales. (Paul M. Reeping; Christopher N. Morrison; Kara E. Rudolph; Monika K. Goyal; Charles C. Branas*, Injury Epidemiology, Jan. 2021.)

The authors compared several previously established scales of gun law permissiveness that differed by type and source, in hopes of providing an enhanced understanding of the consequence of use of a particular scale in a study on gun violence. Using various mathematical correlation coefficients and multivariate regression analyses, the authors tested the reliability of different scales as predictors of gun violence, while also assessing associations between permissiveness of gun laws and total firearm deaths and suicides. After examining seven scales, the authors found that all scales were highly correlated and the choice of scale in a study does not meaningfully change estimates for an association between the permissiveness of gun laws and gun violence statistics.

+ Australian Firearm Regulation at 25-Successes, Ongoing Challenges, and Lessons for the World. (Joel Negin; Philip Alpers; Natasha Nassar; David Hemenway*, New England Journal of Medicine, Apr. 2021.)

In this piece written for the New England Journal of Medicine, the authors looked back on Australian efforts to implement firearm regulations after the 1996 mass shooting that killed 35 people in Port Arthur. Including the strengthening of licensing and registration practices, safe storage policies, and suicide prevention programs, the Australian federal government implemented strict guidelines for the ownership of firearms in hopes to avoid the recurrence of such a horrendous mass shooting event. Examining the effects of Australia’s policies on gun violence in the country, the authors found that the implementation of such policies had substantial and positive impacts on the reduction of gun violence. While the authors conceded that the presence of confounding factors makes it difficult to establish a direct link between the 1996 passage of gun control legislation and the overarching changes in firearm-related mortality, they pointed to evidence found from a rare-events model that determined that the absence of mass shootings was not merely a continuation of a pre-existing pattern.

+ The Impact of Firearm Legislation on Firearm Deaths, 1991–2017. (John F. Gunn; Paul Boxer; Tracy Andrews; Michael Ostermann*; Stephanie L Bonne; Michael Gusmano; Elizabeth Sloan-Power; Bernadette Hohl*, Journal of Public Health, Apr. 2021.)

In this piece for the Journal of Public Health, the authors sought to examine the impact of firearm laws on firearm deaths in various locations around the United States. Using generalized estimating equations and computing a firearm regulations index, the authors found that a state’s firearm laws significantly predicted that state’s firearm-related homicide and suicide rates: the greater the number of firearm laws a state had, the lower its rates.

+ Expert Opinion: The Coming Collision of Gun Laws and Rights. (Robert Spitzer*, Rockefeller Institute of Government, May 2021.)

In this expert opinion blog piece published on the Rockefeller Institute of Government’s website, Consortium member Robert Spitzer broke down the ongoing debate on the Constitutional boundaries of authority under which a state may regulate firearms, most recently seen in the Supreme Court’s decision to hear a challenge to New York’s good-cause concealed carry permits in the current Supreme Court case NYSRPA v. Bruen.

+ The Police Power and the Authority to Regulate Firearms in Early America. (Saul Cornell*, Brennan Center for Justice, June 2021.)

In this piece written for the Brennan Center for Justice, Consortium member Saul Cornell examined the authority of the government to regulate firearms in early America—specifically, the use of police power as an arm of government authority in regulating firearms in late 18th and early 19th century America. Cornell used this background to fill in the historical gaps left in arguments made during the 2008 Supreme Court case District of Columbia v. Heller, a case in which historical context played a major role in the arguments made by both plaintiffs and defendants in support and against the strict regulation of gun ownership.

+ State Gun-Control, Gun-Rights, and Preemptive Firearm-Related Laws Across 50 US States for 2009-2018. (Jennifer L. Pomeranz*; Diana Silver; Sarah A. Lieff, American Journal of Public Health, July 2021.)

In this piece published in the American Journal of Public Health, researchers evaluated changes in firearm laws implemented across the United States between the years 2009 and 2018, focusing on the passage of gun-control legislation, or lack thereof, on the state level. Results indicated that within the ten year period, the number of gun-control bills, gun-rights bills, and preemptive measures enacted across the United States did not increase significantly. The authors highlighted that while mass shootings, public demonstrations, and public outcry have made headlines in the past ten years, the national landscape of gun laws has changed very little.

+ Race, Regulation, and Reconstruction: Setting the Historical Record Straight. (Saul Cornell*, Duke Center for Firearms Laws, Sept. 2021.)

In a post for the Duke Center for Firearm Laws, Consortium member Saul Cornell described the historically complex relationship between race, Reconstruction-era firearm ownership laws, and modern-day firearm regulations, as the racialized history of good cause concealed-carry permits and gun ownership is introduced in the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association’s arguments for dismantling New York’s good cause concealed-carry permits in the current Supreme Court case NYSRPA v. Bruen.

+ The Right to Regulate Arms in the Era of the Fourteenth Amendment: The Emergence of Good Cause Permit Schemes in Post-Civil War America. (Saul Cornell*, U.C. Davis Law Review Online, Sept. 2021.)

In this symposium essay published in the University of California, Davis Law Review, Consortium member Saul Cornell analyzed the Fourteenth Amendment’s impact on the right of states to implement good cause permit schemes as a means of regulating firearms. In particular, he focused on the historical genealogy of such schemes and their connection to modern gun laws across the United States.

+ As SCOTUS Takes on Gun Laws: Neither British Nor Early American History Support the Nearly Unfettered Right to Carry Arms. (Saul Cornell*, The National Law Journal, Nov. 2021.)

In this piece written for the National Law Journal, Consortium member Saul Cornell deconstructed arguments of the historically unfettered right to carry arms, in response to the Supreme Court’s willingness to hear a challenge to New York’s century-old good cause concealed-carry permit statute.

Firearm Safety Practices

+ Lethal Means Counseling, Distribution of Cable Locks, and Safe Firearm Storage Practices Among the Mississippi National Guard: A Factorial Randomized Controlled Trial, 2018–2020. (Michael D. Anestis*; Craig J. Bryan; Daniel W. Capron; AnnaBelle O. Bryan, American Journal of Public Health, Feb. 2021.)

Using a randomized controlled trial, or experimental, format, the authors of this study sought to examine the effectiveness of lethal means counseling and provision of cable locks in prompting safe firearm storage among firearm-owning members of the Mississippi National Guard. In comparing the control group and the experimental group, the experimental group yielded greater adoption of several safe storage methods over time after being given lethal means counseling and access to cable locks, prompting the authors to conclude that lethal means counseling and provision of cable locks might prove helpful in promoting sustained changes in firearm storage.

+ Older Firearm Owners and Advance Planning: Results of a National Survey. (Marian E. Betz; Matthew Miller*; Daniel D. Matlock; Garen J. Wintemute; Rachel L. Johnson; Conor Grogan; Hillary D. Lum; Christopher E. Knoepke; Megan L. Ranney*; Krithika Suresh; Deborah Azrael, Annals of Internal Medicine, Feb. 2021.)

In this analysis, the researchers examined the extent to which older gun owners have considered future firearm transfers, as approximately one third of American adults older than the age of 65 own a gun. Using survey data collected from the 2019 National Firearm Survey, the authors found that approximately a fifth of the respondents, self-identified as at least 65 years old, had a plan for securing, removing, or otherwise transferring firearms in the event the respondent would not be able to safely handle them in the future. The authors pointed to the importance of enhancing opportunities for firearm owners to ensure the safe handling and transfer of their firearms in the future.

+ Parent and Adolescent Reports of Adolescent Access to Household Firearms in the United States. (Carmel Salhi; Deborah Azrael; Matthew Miller*, JAMA Pediatrics, Mar. 2021.)

Using survey data from the 2019 National Firearm Survey, the researchers in this analysis examined the perceived prevalence of adolescent access to firearms in American households by adolescents and their parents. Of the survey respondents, one third of adolescents reported that they could access household firearms in under 5 minutes, with unlocked storage associated with greater access. The authors pointed to the importance of household conversations about firearm storage and firearm usage in order to prevent improper use of firearms by adolescents.

+ An Examination of Preferred Messengers on Firearm Safety For Suicide Prevention. (Michael D. Anestis*; Allison E. Bond; AnnaBelle O. Bryan; Craig J. Bryan, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Apr. 2021.)

In this study, the authors sought to identify and examine differences among firearm owners and non-firearm owners of different racial groups and sexes with respect to their preferences for messengers of firearm safety practices as suicide prevention measures. Utilizing an online survey, the authors found that across the sample and subsamples of different groups, law enforcement, current military personnel, and military veterans were ranked the most credible sources to discuss firearm safety for suicide prevention.

+ What Does the Research Say About Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO)? (Nicholas Simons; Joseph J. Popcun*, Rockefeller Institute of Government, Apr. 2021.)

This blog post published on the Rockefeller Institute of Government’s website summarized research concerning the prevalence and utilization of Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs), or orders authorizing law enforcement agencies to temporarily confiscate firearms and other weapons if an owner is found to present a risk of violence by a court.

+ Firearm Safety Discussions Between Clinicians and US Adults Living in Households With Firearms: Results From a 2019 National Survey. (Andrew Conner; Deborah Azrael; Matthew Miller*, Annals of Internal Medicine, May 2021.)

This report explored the prevalence of firearm safety discussions between clinicians and adults living in households with firearms. After analyzing survey data results from the 2019 National Firearm Survey, the researchers found that less than one in 10 qualifying respondents reported having ever discussed firearm safety with a provider. The authors of the report suggested that efforts to promote firearm safety discussions have thus far been underutilized—and addressing clinician concerns about the potential negative impacts on the clinician-patient relationship might be a good place to start expanding on previous efforts.

+ Factors Contributing to Honor-Endorsing Men’s Suicide Capability: Firearm Ownership, Practical Capability, and Exposure to Painful and Provocative Events. (Jarrod E. Bock; Raymond P. Tucker; Ryan P. Brown; Erin E. Harrington; Brian W. Bauer; Samantha E. Daruwala; Daniel W. Capron; Michael D. Anestis*, Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, Oct. 2021.)

This study tested the hypothesis that men living in regions of the United States with elements considered indicative of cultures of honor (i.e., cultures placing emphasis on the defense of one’s reputation) die by suicide at greater rates. While the findings did not reflect an association between honor norms and firearm storage practices, the authors did find that traditionally masculine honor norms may place men influenced by cultures of honor at a greater risk of suicide, contributing to a growing body of literature linking masculinity norms, firearm ownership, and an increased capability for self-harm in men.

+ New York Firearm Storage Map. (Joseph J. Popcun*; Julianna Caruso, Rockefeller Institute of Government, Nov. 2021.)

This interactive blog post published on the Rockefeller Institute of Government’s website offered temporary, out-of-home firearm storage options across New York State. Including the locations of various law enforcement agencies and private firearm-related businesses, this map continues to serve as a resource for gun owners seeking temporary firearm storage outside of their home to reduce the risk of misuse or theft.

+ Firearm Storage in New York: Options and Opportunities. (Joseph J. Popcun*; Julianna Caruso, Rockefeller Institute of Government, Dec. 2021.)

This blog post, accompanying the New York Firearm Storage Map published by the Rockefeller Institute of Government, broke down the responses to a statewide survey. The piece discusses the findings of the survey, the map, and the potential for further work regarding firearm storage based on responses from law enforcement offices and federal firearm licensed holders.

Gun Violence as a Public Health Issue

+ An Eye on Disparities, Health Equity, and Racism-The Case of Firearm Injuries in Urban Youth in the United States and Globally. (Margaret K. Formica*, Pediatric Clinics, Jan. 2021.)

In this publication written for a pediatric medical journal, Consortium member Margaret Formica described the socioeconomic disparities in gun violence and the role of racism in the disparate rates of firearm violence. The author also concluded that in order for public health-oriented firearm violence prevention efforts to be effective, they should consider social determinants of health.

+ Emergency Physician Survey on Firearm Injury Prevention: Where Can We Improve? (David A. Farcy; Nicole Doria; Lisa Moreno-Walton; Hannah Gordon; Jesus Sánchez; Luigi X. Cubeddu; Megan L. Ranney*, Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, Feb. 2021.)

In this study, the authors analyzed the results collected from a survey distributed to emergency physicians (EP) across the country, to learn more about EP perceptions on firearm injury prevention practices in the medical field. In reviewing the results, the authors found that the overwhelming majority of EPs surveyed expressed interest in increased training for procedures involving firearms in their emergency departments, including increased training on reporting practices for patients at high risk of firearm injury.

+ Emotional and Physical Symptoms After Gun Victimization in the United States, 2009–2019. (Eugenio Weigend Vargas; David Hemenway*, Preventive Medicine, Feb. 2021.)

Focusing on non-fatal violent crimes reported to the National Crime Victimization Survey, the authors examined the impact of firearm presence and use in the commission of an interpersonal crime on victim development of common emotional and physical symptoms reported after crime victimization. Out of victims of non-fatal violent crimes involving a gun, not involving a gun, or involving another type of weapon, victims of non-fatal violent crimes involving a gun were more likely to report both emotional and physical symptoms. The authors concluded that the presence of a firearm during a violent crime has serious emotional and physical repercussions for the victim of such a crime.

+ A New Data Source for Firearm Injury Hospitalizations. (Nicholas Simons; Joseph J. Popcun*, Rockefeller Institute of Government, June 2021.)

This blog post published on the Rockefeller Institute of Government’s website analyzed firearm injury statistics, focusing on the states making up the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium: Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and New York. These states, all located in the Northeastern United States, and all with stronger gun laws than states in other regions of the country, overwhelmingly had injury rates lower than the national average.

+ Consensus-Driven Priorities for Firearm Injury Education Among Medical Professionals. (Katherine Hoops; Jahan Fahimi; Lina Khoeur; Christine Studenmund; Catherine Barber; Amy Barnhorst; Marian E. Betz; Cassandra K. Crifasi; John A. Davis; William Dewispelaere; Lynn Fisher; Patricia K. Howard; Andrew Ketterer; Evie Marcolini; Paul S. Nestadt; John Rozel; Joseph A. Simonetti; Sarabeth Spitzer; Michael Victoroff; Brian H. Williams; Lisa Howley; Megan L. Ranney*, Academic Medicine, July 2021.)

In this report, medical professionals discussed priorities for training professionals across the medical field on firearm injuries and their prevention. The authors concluded that health profession education must include clear and succinct priorities on firearm injury in order to provide a pathway to clinician competence and self-efficacy in the medical field.

+ Identifying Nonfatal Firearm Assault Incidents Through Linking Police Data and Clinical Records: Cohort Study in Indianapolis, Indiana, 2007-2016. (Lauren A Magee; Megan L. Ranney*; J. Dennis Fortenberry; Marc Rosenman; Sami Gharbi; Sarah E. Wiehe, Preventative Medicine, Aug. 2021).

In this cohort study focusing on Indianapolis, Indiana, the authors sought to close the gap in police records on nonfatal firearm assault incidents by linking them to medical records, and vice versa. After analyzing both police data and clinical records in Indianapolis, and identifying links and commonalities between the two, the authors found that nearly a fifth of nonfatal firearm incident reports filed by the police did not have overlap with clinical records, prompting them to recommend further collaboration efforts to link the two types of administrative data.

+ Firearm-Related Research Articles in Health Sciences by Funding Status and Type: A Scoping Review. (Sixtine Gurrey; Hasanah McCauley; Melanie Benson; Pavithra Prabhu; Mary D. Fan; Frederick P. Rivara; David Hemenway*; Matthew Miller*; Deborah Azrael; Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, Preventive Medicine Reports, Dec. 2021.)

In this review, the authors attempted to fill an existing gap of knowledge about the funding process for firearm-related research by characterizing the number and sources of funding in the United States. In conducting a scoping review of various firearm-related research articles, the authors found that while the number of firearm-related research articles published increased between the years 2000 and 2019, the proportion of articles with funding was lower later in time.

+ Talking about “Firearm Injury” and “Gun Violence”: Words Matter. (Marian E. Betz; Jill Harkavy-Friedman; Fatimah Loren Dreier; Rob Pincus; Megan L. Ranney*, American Journal of Public Health, Dec. 2021.)

This publication analyzed the impact of language used when talking about firearms and offers terminological changes that might facilitate fruitful gun policy discussions by avoiding provocative phrases. The authors concluded that in order to properly address different types of firearm violence and promote collaboration across the political spectrum in doing so, a common, neutral, and shared language across disciplines and academic fields is necessary.

School Safety

+ Suicidality and Exposure to School-Based Violence Among a Nationally Representative Sample of Asian American and Pacific Islander Adolescents. (Sonali Rajan*; Prerna Arora; Bryan Cheng; Olivia Khoo; Helen Verdeli, School Psychology Review, Jan. 2021.)

This study sought to contribute to a growing body of literature examining the prevalence of suicidality and exposure to school-based violence among Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) youths in the United States. Using results from a survey given out by the Centers for Disease Control, the authors found that there was a significant, positive correlation between exposure and suicidal thoughts among AAPI adolescents.

+ State Anxiety Prior to and After Participating in Lockdown Drills Among Students in a Rural High School. (Jaclyn Schildkraut*; Amanda B. Nickerson*, School Psychology Review, Mar. 2021.)

In this study, Consortium members Amanda Nickerson and Jaclyn Schildkraut examined the anxiety levels of students in a rural high school, both before and after participating in active shooter lockdown drills. Results indicated that in comparison to pre-participation levels of anxiety, students reported feeling significantly less anxious after participating in lockdown drills.

+ K–12 School Shootings: Implications for Policy, Prevention, and Child Well-Being. (Paul M. Reeping; Ariana N. Gobaud; Charles C Branas*; Sonali Rajan*, Pediatric Clinics, Apr. 2021.)

In this journal article, the authors discussed the implications of K-12 school shootings on future policy, prevention strategies, and child well-being. Specifically, the authors urged consideration of how currently proposed policies intended to prevent or guide schools through active shooter situations—such as the arming of teachers—would impact the physical and mental well-being of children.

+ Reading, Writing, Responding: Educators’ Perceptions of Safety, Preparedness, and Lockdown Drills. (Jaclyn Schildkraut*; Amanda B. Nickerson*; Kirsten R. Klingaman, Educational Policy, May 2021.)

This study explored the impact of lockdown drills, commonly used to practice safety protocols put in place in the event of an active shooter situation in schools, on perceptions of safety and preparedness held by school faculty and staff in a large, urban school district. While the study’s results showed that overall perceived levels of school safety remained unaffected by the lockdown drills, there were significant perceived gains in school emergency preparedness, suggesting that lockdown drills do have merit in creating a culture of preparedness.

+ School Safety and Violence: Drawing on a Public Health Approach. (Sonali Rajan*, International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, Aug. 2021.)

In this report, Consortium member Sonali Rajan draws on recent research conducted regarding school safety and violence, and highlights a conceptual framework from a public health perspective in furthering discussions about responding to school violence, education, and youth physical and mental well-being.