News media framing of serious mental illness and gun violence in the United States, 1997-2012

E.E. McGinty, D.W. Webster, M. Jarlenski and C.L. Barry

American Journal of Public Health, 2014, vol. 104, issue 3, 406-413

Abstract: Recent mass shootings by persons seemingly afflicted with serious mental illness (SMI) have received extensive news media coverage and prompted national dialogue about the causes of, and policy responses to, mass shootings. News media framing of SMI as a cause of gun violence may influence public attitudes about persons with SMI and support for gun violence prevention proposals. We analyzed the content of a 25% random sample of news stories on SMI and gun violence published in 14 national and regional news sources from 1997 to 2012. Across the study period, most news coverage occurred in the wake of mass shootings, and "dangerous people" with SMI were more likely than "dangerous weapons" to be mentioned as a cause of gun violence.

Keywords: article; bibliometrics; firearm; human; mass disaster; mass medium; mental disease; psychological aspect; public opinion; United States; violence, Bibliometrics; Firearms; Humans; Mass Casualty Incidents; Mass Media; Mental Disorders; Public Opinion; United States; Violence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2013.301557_1

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301557

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