Guns, anger, and mental disorders: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R)

Abstract

Analyses from the National Comorbidity Study Replication provide the first nationally-representative estimates of the co-occurrence of pathological anger traits and possessing or carrying a gun among adults with and without certain mental disorders and demographic characteristics. The study found that a large number of individuals in the United States have anger traits and also possess firearms at home (10.4%) or carry guns outside the home (1.6%). These data document associations of numerous common mental disorders and combinations of anger traits with gun access. Because only a small proportion of persons with this risky combination have ever been hospitalized for a mental health problem, most will not be subject to existing mental-health-related legal restrictions on firearms due to involuntary commitment. Excluding a large proportion of the general population from gun possession is also not likely to be feasible. Behavioral risk-based approaches to firearms restriction, such as expanding the definition of gun-prohibited persons to include those with violent misdemeanor convictions and multiple DUI convictions, could be a more effective public health policy to prevent gun violence in the population.