A very gloomy situation shapes up across the United States of America. According to recent research, suicide rates across the US surpassed the homicide rates, even though most people are not aware of that aspect, unfortunately. As reported by the researchers, suicide rates are by 100 percent more prevalent than homicide rates.
The first-of-its-kind study, carried out by the scientists at the University of Washington, Northeastern University and Harvard University, analyzed public perceptions of gun violence and the leading causes of death in the US, as reported by EurekAlert. The research, issued today in the Annals of Internal Medicine, sought to ease up the national public debates on topics like firearm ownership and storage.
“This research indicates that in the scope of violent death, the majority of U.S. adults don’t know how people are dying. Knowing that the presence of a firearm increases the risk for suicide, and that firearm suicide is substantially more common than firearm homicide, may lead people to think twice about whether or not firearm ownership and their storage practices are really the safest options for them and their household,” explained Erin Morgan, the study’s leading author from the University of Washington.
Suicide Rates Across the US Surpassed The Homicide Rates, But Most People Are Not Aware Of That
To survey the national public perception, the investigators analyzed the data gathered during the 2015 National Firearms Survey, an online poll that enjoyed the participation of more than 4,000 US adults. The results revealed that, even though suicide rates are by 100 percent more prevalent than homicide rates, most of the respondents did not identify this aspect as such.
“The relative frequencies that respondents reported didn’t match up with the state’s data when we compared them to vital statistics. The inconsistency between the true causes and what the public perceives to be frequent causes of death indicates a gap in knowledge and a place where additional education can be helpful,” said Morgan. “By having mass media and other communication mechanisms enable further discussions of suicide, we, as a society, can have a more informed conversation about suicide prevention,” the researcher added.
