Thread by @CarolineYLChen

*deep breath* So let's talk about mental health.

Warning: long thread
Also: real academic research ahead

https://twitter.com/TexasTribune/status/1157801199225188352

An estimated 50% of Americans are diagnosed with mental illness or disorder, such as depression, at some point in their lifetime (CDC). 1 in 25 live with a serious mental illness (CDC).
(cdc.gov/mentalhealth/d…)

Suicide rates have increased in nearly every state since 1999 (CDC). It is the 2nd leading cause of death among people aged 15-34 (CDC).

So clearly, mental health concerns in America are real. But is mental illness to *blame* for gun violence?

Nearly 50% of Americans think so, blaming the mental health system “a great deal” for mass shootings (Gallup poll, 2013). Vs. 40% who blame “easy access to guns.”
(news.gallup.com/poll/164507/am…)

But actual academic research shows that mental health symptoms (depression, anxiety, PTSD etc) are NOT strongly related to gun violence (Lu & Temple, 2019).
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

Lu & Temple tracked 663 young adults. Their conclusion: “the majority of mental health symptoms examined were not related to gun violence. Instead, access to firearms was the primary culprit.”

Mental health disorders are common across the globe and the U.S. is not exceptional in that regard (WHO surveys). Yet our gun violence numbers are different. So mental illness cannot take all the blame.

Further research (are you tired of all this research yet?) suggests that limiting gun access for folks with serious mental illness would lower *suicide* rates, not violent gun crime/interpersonal violence. (Swanson, et al, 2016).
healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.13…

Yes, there have been mass shooters with serious mental illness. Which could have been a factor in their actions.

But Lu/Temple study reinforces that mental health symptoms are not a good *indicator* nor the *root cause* of gun violence.

Suggesting that people with mental illness are inherently violent (see attached example) is stigmatizing and JUST PLAIN INACCURATE.

(And armchair-diagnosing shooters with mental illness is something that nobody on twitter is qualified to do)

And here's one more good read if you’re interested in additional nuanced discussion: namimc.org/untangling-gun…

Please feel free to chime in with any other relevant studies & research! (end)

P.S.! FBI study of active shooters @earthpeaslove shared (thank you!)

- FBI could only verify 25% had diagnosed mental illness
- Conclusion: “declarations that all active shooters must simply be mentally ill are misleading & unhelpful”

info.publicintelligence.net/FBI-ActiveShoo…

... which is not to say shooters were not stressed. 62% judged to have mental health strain (not = illness).
But FBI says "absent specific evidence, careful consideration should be given [...] before concluding that an active shooting was “caused” by mental illness"

Belated addition: Ppl keep arguing, “but no shooter could be sane”. I’m not saying shooters are all mentally healthy.
I’m saying that mental illness doesn’t, in and of itself, cause/predict gun violence, and writing policy based on that premise won't end mass shootings.

Further reading that addresses this question in more detail: propublica.org/article/myth-v…