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Violence Prevention Research Program | UC Davis July, 2022

Garen Wintemute, an emergency department physician and director of the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program.

A new report published as a preprint on medRXiv.org from researchers at the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program (VPRP) reveals alarming trends in attitudes toward violence, including political violence, in the United States. The survey is the first of its kind to explore the participants’ personal willingness to engage in specific political violence scenarios.
In included 8,620 respondents, equally split kl men and women; average age 48.

The survey questions focused on three areas: beliefs regarding democracy and the potential for violence in the United States, beliefs regarding American society and institutions, and support for and willingness to engage in violence, including political violence. Some key findings from those surveyed:

• 67.2% perceive there is “a serious threat to our democracy.”
• 50.1% agree that “in the next several years, there will be civil war in the United States.”
• 42.4% agreed that “having a strong leader for America is more important than having a democracy.”
• 41.2% agreed that “in America, native-born white people are being replaced by immigrants.”
• 18.7% agreed strongly or very strongly that violence or force is needed to “protect American democracy” when “elected leaders will not.”
• 20.5% think that political violence is at least sometimes justifiable “in general.”

SEE Views of American Democracy and Society and Support for Political Violence: First Report from a Nationwide Population-Representative Survey

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2018 Study
• The United States has the highest rate of gun-related injuries among developed countries, as well as the highest rate of gun ownership.
• US 2018 - 38,390 deaths from firearm violence.
• 74% of homicides, 51% of suicides involved firearms.
  Firearm Death Rate per 100,000

  	1981	2018
  Suicide	7.0	7.3
  Homicide	6.6	4.2

  Source: Firearm Injury and Deathin the United States | UC Davis