GVPanorama: The Impact of Gun Violence on Children and Adolescents
An extensive study delves into the negative outcomes of our firearm epidemic
Photo by Zhivko Minkov on Unsplash
While on the search for recent gun violence prevention news for our weekly "Friday Finds” feature, we often come across editorials, personal stories, or wider-lens articles that don’t necessarily fit into a current events window. With GVPanorama, we highlight some of these thought-provoking pieces.
As has become a sad mantra of late, “firearms now kill more children and adolescents than any other cause, surpassing motor vehicle crashes” — as is shown in this recent, detailed brief from the KFF (formerly The Kaiser Family Foundation). This investigation further explains that “beyond deaths, there are many more youth who survive gunshot wounds or are otherwise exposed to gun violence.”
The article digs into four main questions:
How have firearm deaths changed in recent years among children and adolescents and how do these deaths vary by demographic characteristics?
What is known about nonfatal firearm injury and gun exposure among children and adolescents?
How does gun violence affect the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents?
What policies are in place to address youth exposure to gun violence?
With the help of clear charts and exhaustive research, this piece is another useful tool to share with those who would still deny the deep reach of gun violence.