Abstract
Purpose
The United States is unique among wealthy countries for its increasing rates of mortality in young people. Firearm injuries are a major source of this disparity. Here we examined the potential imitative effect of firearm use in entertainment media as a factor in the rise of their use in youth homicides in the United States.
Methods
We coded the use of firearms in both the top 30 most popular TV dramas and movies from 2000 to 2021 and determined the rate at which those weapons were used to inflict harm on others. We compared these rates to the comparable population rates at which young people ages 15–24 were the victims of homicide and suicide due to firearms.
Results
The rates of firearm portrayal in movies closely paralleled the increase in homicides but not suicides attributable to firearms over the study period. The relation was weaker for TV, especially at the end of the series. Neither changes in economic adversity during childhood nor the national increase in firearm purchases during the study period provided as clear an explanation as the imitative effect of entertainment media.
Discussion
Authors
- Daniel Romer
- Patrick E. Jamieson
- Lauren E. Hawkins
- Kathleen H. Jamieson
