A new study from scholars at Rutgers University in New Jersey has found that higher exposure to gun violence among Black and Hispanic Americans may partly explain the persistent racial health disparities facing these populations.
Using data from a nationally representative survey of 7,066 Black, Hispanic, and White adults in 2024, the authors analyzed socioeconomic and health disadvantages alongside lifelong exposure to gun violence, which includes being threatened with a firearm, being shot, knowing someone who was shot, witnessing a shooting, and hearing gunshots in one’s neighborhood.
Across all participants, greater exposure to gun violence was associated with poorer self-rated health and more chronic health challenges. Notably, Black and Hispanic adults reported significantly higher gun violence exposure than White participants. However, when the authors simulated reducing gun violence exposure among Black and Hispanic adults to the levels of White adults, there was a major decline in health disparities, suggesting gun violence is a direct contributor to disadvantaged communities’ long-term health.
“This study identifies [gun violence exposure] as a key pathway through which community disadvantage contributes to racial health inequities,” the authors conclude. “Addressing these disparities will require comprehensive strategies that tackle the root causes of both community disadvantage and violence exposure, recognizing that individual-focused interventions alone cannot overcome the health consequences of structural inequity.”
