A new study from Yale University has found that the spread and intensity of gun violence in the United States mimics and behaves similar to a biological disease. The Yale researchers conducted an “epidemiological analysis” of a group of 138,163 people over an 8 year period (2006-2014) and were able to reliably predict who would become “a subject of” or “infected with” gun violence. The central conclusion of the study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (3 January 2017), was that “Gunshot violence follows an epidemic-lik
e process of social contagion that is transmitted through networks of people by social interactions.” In other words, when someone you know is involved in an incident of gun violence, your risk of becoming involved in gun violence increases, at least temporarily.
The researchers were able to “trace the infection” of gunshot violence through a network of Chicagoans by following “chains in which one person becomes infected, exposing his or her associates, who then may become infected and spread the infection to their associates.” The authors found that such “cascades of gunshot violence episodes” continue to run through the network as long as there is someone associated with a shooter or a victim. In short, your risk of infection increases—just like a biological epidemic—the more you are simply exposed to the disease (i.e., it doesn’t matter whether you know the shooter or victim; if you know either one, your risk of being involved in an incident of gun violence is heightened).
Since gun violence spreads as a social contagion, it means that we have the capability to abate it. The authors conclude their analysis by offering insights into reducing gun violence such as treating it as a public health issue rather than a criminal justice problem. If we were to treat gun violence as a public health epidemic, it would force us to develop new strategies for reducing it other than the punish-the-offender approach. The study’s main finding that gun violence spreads like a disease through networks of social interactions means that fostering compassion throughout society can have a profound effect on reducing the number of the more than 200 people who are murdered or assaulted with a firearm every day in the United States. One way to combat violence in general is to strengthen compassion on the individual and communal levels. From explaining how to develop self-compassion to creating cities of compassion The Compassionate Achiever offers several ways to help inoculate you and your community against the social contagion of violence.
The Compassionate Achiever: How Helping Others Fuels Your Success is now available for pre-order from the following retailers:
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Chris is Professor of Political Science at Western Connecticut State University, a Fulbright Scholar, Director of the Kathwari Honors Program, and founding Director of the Center for Compassion, Creativity & Innovation. He is also the author of "The Compassionate Achiever: How Helping Others Fuels Success" (HarperOne, 2017).
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Kelley Oshiro
January 6, 2017
This makes sense, and I’m sure you could say the same and studies likely concur for suicide, for example.
Roger Brooks
January 7, 2017
I have to wonder if the fact that gun violence in Chicago occurs within the gangs where the people involved share and know similar values and fiends is a factor in the study results.
Roger Brooks
January 7, 2017
I meant Values and FRIENDS.