GUN violence can be infectious: a teenager witnessing an incident is twice as likely to commit serious violence within two years, according to a US study. The findings give credence to the notion that gun-related violence is a public health issue and should be tackled like any other disease or epidemic, a stance long argued by advocates of gun control.
Previous studies have struggled to show a causal link between exposure to violence and violent behaviour. But Felton Earls of Harvard School of Public Health and his colleagues studied 1500 Chicago teenagers over a five-year period and were able to show the link by eliminating most of the factors that had confounded other studies (Science, vol 308, p 1323).
鈥淏ased on this study鈥檚 results, the best model for violence may be that of a socially infectious disease,鈥� says Earls. 鈥淧reventing one violent crime may prevent a downstream cascade of 鈥榠nfections鈥�.鈥�
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He adds that school programmes that teach children how to deal with conflict without resorting to fighting may help. 鈥淚n some cases it means just walking away from somebody you just want to smack, and that can be done with dignity,鈥� he says. By preventing one violent act, the programmes could prevent a chain reaction of violence among those exposed to it.
