Abstract
Gun violence is a public health crisis in the United States and around the world. Death and disability from gun violence affect all age groups, genders, and races. In order to address and prevent gun violence, it is necessary to present a unifying, science-based framework that leverages learnings from prior diseases. This chapter defines gun violence as a complex biopsychosocial disease by framing gun violence as a disease, exploring the biopsychosocial aspects of gun violence, and then using the public health approach to violence prevention as a means of applying the biopsychosocial disease framework. Haddon’s Matrix is also introduced as a means to planning gun violence prevention strategies. The biopsychosocial disease framework can facilitate the development, implementation, and evaluation of comprehensive evidence-based programs and policies on the local, state, and national levels, which will ultimately save lives and restore communities.
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Kohlbeck, S., Pederson, L., Hargarten, S. (2022). Defining Gun Violence Using a Biopsychosocial Framework: A Public Health Approach. In: Geffner, R., White, J.W., Hamberger, L.K., Rosenbaum, A., Vaughan-Eden, V., Vieth, V.I. (eds) Handbook of Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Across the Lifespan. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89999-2_308
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