A new survey from the American Psychological Association (APA) finds that a third of U.S. adults say their fear of mass shootings keeps them from going to certain public places and events.

APA commissioned the nationally-representative survey, in the wake of shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, to better understand the impact of mass shootings on stress and health. It was conducted online by The Harris Poll between Aug. 8-12, 2019, among 2,017 adults ages 18 and older who reside in the U.S.

The survey found that more than three-quarters of adults (79%) in the U.S. say they experience stress as a result of the possibility of a mass shooting. Nearly one in three adults (32%) feel they cannot go anywhere without worrying about being a victim of a mass shooting, while just about the same number (33%) say fear prevents them from going to certain places or events. Nearly one-quarter (24%) of adults report changing how they live their lives because of fear of a mass shooting.

Almost a third of Hispanic adults (32%), compared to White adults (15%) experience stress "often or constantly" related to the possibility of a mass shooting. A majority of African American adults (60%),  50% of Hispanic adults and 41% of White adults fear someone they know will be a victim of a mass shooting.

See the full results from the APA Survey.

See NCFR's resources for Coping in the Wake of Shootings, Mass Violence, and Terrorism

See NCFR's resource collection Understanding Gun Violence from a Family Perspective