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Today’s question: How many civilian-owned firearms are there in the United States?

Bonus question: What percentage of homicides were committed using a firearm?

News

CDC report on firearm deaths

On Tuesday, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) released a report on firearm deaths across the country. Here are some of the facts:

• Firearms were involved in 79% of all homicides and 53% of all suicides in 2020

• There has been a historic increase of 35% in the firearm homicide rate, resulting in the highest firearm homicide rate in more than 25 years

• Firearm homicide rates are consistently highest among males, adolescents, young adults, and non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people

• The highest firearm homicide rates and increases occurred among non-Hispanic Black persons

• Regarding firearm suicides, non-metro and rural areas experienced the highest rates

Although surely many factors contribute to the rising firearm homicide rate, research has shown that there is a relationship between the availability of guns and homicide rates. In other words, the more guns lead to more firearm deaths.

In an effort to decrease firearm deaths, cities and states have tried different approaches such as funding “violence interrupters”. These programs seek to reduce gun violence through community-based programs. One example is Operation Good in Mississippi, which consists of a group of 6 people who travel throughout the community in an effort to reduce gun violence.

Despite increased funding towards violence interrupting programs, employees report high burnout and stress and a lack of opportunity for career advancement.

Other social work-related news

• A program pairing police with mental health professionals to better handle people in a mental crisis is finding early success in Alexandria, Virginia

• Therapy with a robot? How AI could help those struggling with mental health

• Q&A: He’s studied mental illness for 50 years. Here are all the things we’re doing wrong

• The number of Americans who say they won't get a COVID shot hasn't budged in a year

Research

Abortion & mental health

There has been a flood of mainstream interest on abortion following the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade leak. The topic is highly controversial and divisive, with the right generally holding the view that abortion is murder and that an embryo/fetus is a human being, while the left sees the issue as one of women’s rights and that an embryo/fetus is not a human, at least before a certain stage of development.

Moving away from the philosophical question of “What constitutes life” and “When does an embryo become a human?”, we dive into other questions surrounding abortion: Namely, how does getting an abortion affect the mental health of women?

Contrary to popular belief, research has shown that women do not generally have negative emotions associated with getting an abortion following the procedure. Five years down the line, most women felt that the decision was the right one. Relief was the most common emotion at 5+ years post-abortion.

Another landmark study, which was performed between 2008 and 2016, found that over time, the psychological well-being of groups which included those who gave abortion and those who were denied abortion converged. In other words, both groups eventually had similar emotions around either giving birth or having an abortion.

The overall findings are best summarized by Antonia Biggs, associate professor at the University of California: “We found no evidence to support the idea that abortion increases people’s mental health risks, and instead found that, really, the denial of abortion was worse for people’s mental health”.

Other reads on research

• The research on how nature affects mental health has a WEIRD Problem

• A meta-analysis of 15 studies on depression suggests significant mental health benefits from being physically active

• New research suggests that stigma around depression is dropping

• An analysis reveals close links between eczema, anxiety, and depression

Reads on policy

• The Texas Supreme Court rules that investigations into gender-affirming care can continue

• Democrats lose Senate vote to codify abortion rights into federal law

• Medicaid coverage for moms and babies to expand in Michigan

Cool Jobs 😎

• Blueprint creates software that helps mental health clinicians deliver the right treatments to the right patient at the right time. They are hiring for a clinical account executive

• Interested in working in psychedelics? Apply here

• Remble is a mental health startup building an intuitive and comprehensive mental health and wellbeing platform. They are hiring for a mental health content manager

Answer: There are more than 393 million civilian-owned firearms in the United States.

How does this compare to other countries?

How does gun violence in the US compare to some other countries?

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