Social Determinants

The adverse impacts of community firearm violence in the U.S. are unequally felt across geographic and various sociodemographic segments of our population. Researchers, government leaders, and the general public need to contend with the various ways in which unjust socioeconomic and political forces and systems of power and privilege lead to differences in risk exposure among population groups, as well as differences in the extent to which various segments of the population are protected from the adverse effects of firearm violence.

Living near an incident of firearm violence can negatively impact youth, regardless of whether the violence is experienced firsthand. Inequities in household and neighborhood resources may affect the prevalence and consequences of exposure across racial/ethnic groups.