Violence is a significant problem within the U.S. The purpose of this project is to help prevent violence through better understanding what increases or decreases risk for violence, specifically political violence of all types (e.g. far right and far left). Understanding this will help inform violence prevention programs and policies. We will conduct a large-scale one-time survey of risk and protective factors related to attitudes towards political violence using population-wide sampling. The survey will include about 2000 people. The survey includes questions about grievances, mental health, social connection, trauma experiences, childhood experiences, faith, views of government, internet use and attitudes towards the use of violence for political change.
This survey is designed to help us better understand the kinds of individual experiences people have–both good and bad–that relate to how they view using violence for political change. This important survey is being conducted in 20 states across the United States and will help build a picture of what we can do to build stronger, safer communities.