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Opinion: Link Between Shootings and Childhood Trauma Warrants Research [detroitnews.com]

 

By Rick Murdock, The Detroit News, August 18, 2019

As we continue to connect the dots regarding gun violence, bringing the lens of adverse childhood experiences into play creates a meaningful context for public discussion.

What brings this relationship to mind are the studies funded by the National Institute of Justice, highlighted recently by the Los Angeles Times on Aug. 4, 2019. The studies cited relate to a data-base going back to 1966 of every mass shooter who killed four or more people in a public place, and every shooting incident at schools, workplaces, and places of worship since 1999. The researchers, from the Violence Project spent the past two years reviewing the life histories of mass shooters within this database with a goal to find new, data-driven pathways for preventing such shootings. Their research revealed four commonalities among the perpetrators of nearly all the mass shootings that they studied.

The first commonality is central to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). As quoted in the study: β€œFirst, the vast majority of mass shooters in our study experienced early childhood trauma and exposure to violence at a young age. The shooters exposure included parental suicide, physical or sexual abuse, neglect, domestic violence, and/or severe bullying. The trauma was often a precursor to mental health concerns, including depression, anxiety, thought disorders or suicidality.”

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