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How does gun violence affect Americans' trust in each other?
1Department of Sociology, York University, Vari Hall, Room 2060, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, M3J 1P3, Canada.
Social Science Research
|September 16, 2020
Summary
Gun violence victimization significantly erodes trust in others, with repeated incidents having the most profound impact. This personal experience of gun violence, and higher community gun violence rates, decrease social trust across the United States.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Criminology
- Psychology
Background:
- Gun violence is a significant public health issue in the United States.
- Existing research suggests a correlation between gun crime and lower levels of social trust.
- The impact of personal gun victimization on individual trust remains less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of personal gun victimization on interpersonal trust.
- To examine the relationship between gun victimization and place-level trust.
- To explore the moderating role of socioeconomic status on trust recovery.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of data from the U.S. General Social Survey (GSS).
- Integration of GSS data with gun violence statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- Statistical examination of individual and aggregate-level trust and gun violence experiences.
Main Results:
- Individuals victimized by gun violence exhibit significantly lower trust in others.
- The severity of gun victimization (repeated, adulthood, childhood) correlates with the degree of trust reduction.
- Higher rates of nonfatal and fatal gun violence at the place level are associated with decreased social trust.
Conclusions:
- Personal experiences of gun violence have a detrimental effect on individual social trust.
- Place-level gun violence undermines social cohesion and trust across communities.
- Gun violence's impact extends beyond direct victims, affecting the broader social and psychological well-being of Americans.
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