This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Nearly three-quarters of young people who witnessed or became aware of a firearm-related danger tried to help in some way, but many felt their efforts had little impact, according to researchers at Rutgers University, the nonpartisan research institute NORC at the University of Chicago and the University of New Hampshire. In their study, published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, the researchers examined how adolescents and young adults respond after encountering firearm-related risks.
Scenarios ranged from hearing gunshots and witnessing shootings to recognizing warning signs, such as unsafe weapon access, threats or concerns that someone might use a firearm for self-harm. "The gap tells us that people are ready and willing to try to do something, and that is especially true of young people," said Victoria Banyard, a distinguished professor at Rutgers School of Social Work and lead author of the study. "But it also tells us that we haven't really fully explained what may be most effective in dangerous situations." The researchers drew on data from Growing Up With Guns, a national survey of 5,311 people ages 10 to 34 conducted by NORC in collaboration with the University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center.
The findings build on 2025 research by this team that established the first national baseline for broad youth firearm exposure. Researchers involved in the earlier analyses found that nearly 70% of young people encounter at least one form of firearm exposure in their lifetime, including unsafe behaviors, threats, hearing gunshots, witnessing public shootings or knowing someone who died by firearm suicide. The researchers examined responses from 2,653 participants in the Growing Up With Guns survey—part of a study examining youth and young adults' exposure to firearm violence—who knew of a gun-related incident and tried to help.
The incidents included situations participants witnessed directly as well as situations they heard about or otherwise became aware of. Nearly half felt good about stepping in. Perceptions of whether their actions helped were less positive: About 10% said their actions helped "a lot," and 43% felt their efforts didn't help at all.
Rather than focusing only on active shootings, researchers in the latest analysis examined a broad range of potentially dangerous and pre-crisis situations. These included hearing threats, discovering someone had brought a weapon to school, work or a community event, or recognizing warning signs of self-harm. "This is not just somebody who pulls a gun out in the street and starts shooting people," Banyard said.
"At that point, the safe thing is not going to be to try to reason with the person who's shooting the gun." Bystander intervention has been studied extensively in bullying, sexual assault and relationship violence. But gun violence requires its own set of considerations, Banyard said. "When you introduce a tool like a gun, the safety issues expand exponentially," she said.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
