Triggered: Qualitatively exploring structural and social drivers of firearm violence exposure among LGBTQ+ young adults of color in Detroit

Wesley M. Correll-King, Ini-Abasi Ubong, Dior Monro, Kalaan Scott, Sydney N. Strunk, J. Stephenson, Laura Jadwin-Cakmak, Avery Everhart and Kristi E. Gamarel

Social Science & Medicine, 2025, vol. 384, issue C

Abstract: Firearm violence is a leading cause of injury and death among youth and young adults in the U.S. with notable inequities across race and ethnicity, geography, and gender. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) young adults are largely absent from firearms research. Guided by structural violence and Social Safety theory, we qualitatively explored structural and social influences on firearm violence exposure among LGBTQ+ young adults of color in Detroit, Michigan. Through analysis of in-depth interviews with 24 participants, we developed three themes aligned with this aim. First, participants' accounts reflected how contemporary and historical structural racism in Detroit is the root cause of the firearm violence. Second, participants characterized firearms as a source of protection in the absence of structural safety. Finally, participants described how firearm violence against LGBTQ+ people is often an attempt to regain social status lost to structural violence. These themes indicate that structural racism in Detroit has unique impacts on LGBTQ+ young adults of color's exposure to firearms and firearm violence. Future research with this community is needed to guide protective interventions and policy changes.

Keywords: Firearms; Structural violence; Structural racism; Sexual minorities; Gender minorities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027795362500855X
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:384:y:2025:i:c:s027795362500855x

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/supportfaq.cws_home/regional
http://www.elsevier. ... _01_ooc_1&version=01

DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118524

Access Statistics for this article

Social Science & Medicine is currently edited by Ichiro (I.) Kawachi and S.V. (S.V.) Subramanian

More articles in Social Science & Medicine from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().