Jennifer Necci Dineen, Ph.D.
Associate Professor In-Residence, School of Public Policy | Associate Director, UConn Center for Advancing, Research, Methods, and Scholarship in Gun Injury Prevention (ARMS) University of Connecticut
- Hartford CT
Jennifer Dineen is a survey methodologist who focuses on stakeholder attitudes as mechanism for intervention uptake and policy change.
Biography
Areas of Expertise
Education
University of Connecticut
Ph.D.
Political Science (American Politics, Survey Methods)
2001
University of Connecticut
M.A.
Political Science (Survey Methods)
1994
Marist College
B.A.
Political Science
1993
Links
Social
Media
Media Appearances
Should gun makers and dealers be held responsible for crimes? CT bill would make it so
Hartford Courant print
2025-03-14
Dr. Jennifer Dineen, associate director of UConn’s ARMS Center for Gun Injury Prevention, testified in favor, calling HB 7042 “a crucial step in incentivizing responsible control over the use and transfer of firearms and related products.
“History has shown that industry liability is an effective tool for improving health and safety outcomes for products that, through negligence, accident, or misuse, can cause harm. Even when manufacturers do not voluntarily enhance safety measures, evidence demonstrates that litigation can drive improvements,” she said.
Firearms bill spark fireworks in Judiciary Committee
CT Inside Investigator online
2025-03-13
“History has shown that industry liability is an effective tool for improving health and safety outcomes for products that, through negligence, accidents or misuse, can cause harm,” said Dineen. “Even when manufacturers do not voluntarily enhance safety measures, evidence demonstrates that litigation can drive improvements.”
Dineen cited the Ford Pinto as one such example; sold in the 70’s, the car became notable for its faulty gas tank that was liable to start fires. Dineen said that Ford recalled and revised the vehicle only after facing litigation. Dineen stated that while it is too early to come to definitive conclusions, other states that have recently passed similar bills, such as New York, which passed its own version in 2021, have issued studies claiming “that the crimes that they were targeting with this bill decreased significantly.”
Acknowledging gun violence as a public health issue could be part of the solution
Where We Live Podcast online
2024-09-06
Today, we talk about the intersection of gun violence and public health and the push to view gun violence as a public health issue. We’ll hear from Dr. Jennifer Dineen. Associate Director of the Arms Center for Gun Injury Prevention at UConn.
After another year with COVID and gun violence, teachers are struggling
Disrupted Podcast online
2024-09-06
This week, we talk about how teachers, parents, and students are holding up after a year of violence, COVID-19 and mental health struggles. And later, we'll hear from a political scientist who’s leading a new research center at UCONN, looking at solutions to gun violence.
Ten years after Obama, Biden brings gun safety message back to Connecticut as activists work to build a movement
Hearst Connecticut Media print
2023-06-15
Though she agreed that “an entire movement has grown” in the last 10 years, Jennifer Dineen, associate professor in residence in the Department of Public Policy at UConn, said “the opposing movement has also grown.”
There has been some state-level movement. Connecticut, notably, has passed several pieces of gun reform legislation since Sandy Hook. This year, Gov. Ned Lamont signed a law banning most kinds of open carrying of firearms in public. Concealed carry is allowed with a permit.
Report: Connecticut sees a rise in gun crimes post-pandemic; too soon to say if it's a new trend
Journal Inquirer print
2023-06-11
Jennifer Dineen, a public policy professor at the University of Connecticut, noted that the drop in gun-related crimes during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic was likely due to the high number of people staying home to avoid exposure to the novel coronavirus.
Dineen, who is also the associate director of UConn's Center for Advancing Research, Methods, and Scholarship (ARMS) in Gun Violence Prevention, said that it will take some time to determine whether the recent spike is an ongoing trend.
Should Gun Safety Be On Your Doctor’s Check List? Researchers Want To Know Why It Isn’t
Connecticut Health I-Team online
2022-07-15
A new study by two University of Connecticut researchers aims to find out why doctors aren’t routinely addressing this serious public health problem.
“We looked at why they don’t include firearm security or safety conversations as part of what we call anticipatory guidance,” said Jennifer Necci Dineen, an associate professor in residence at the School of Public Policy at the University of Connecticut, referring to when doctors ask about things like cancer screenings and whether a patient uses a seatbelt.
UConn researchers want to know why gun safety is not on every doctor’s check list
Hartford Courant print
2022-07-16
Dineen and co-researcher Kerri Raissian, an associate professor, did a qualitative survey of 18 family physicians in 18 states, including Connecticut. Most physicians surveyed did not ask about gun safety as a primary question but were apt to bring it up if another answer prompted the inquiry.
“If I screen in for depression, for example, they may ask me if we have guns in our house,” Dineen said. “If I express concern about my partner or, let’s say, one of my children is violent, and I talk to my physician about that, they may ask me if I have guns in the house. But they rarely will bring that up proactively.”
Coronavirus crisis reveals partisan divide
Hearst Connecticut Media print
2020-03-29
Professor Jennifer Dineen, director of the graduate program in survey research at the University of Connecticut, pointed to the different realities part of Trump’s base and the rest of the country are seeing.
“We’re seeing some increased anxiety among the American public,” she said “What his base is still seeing is not quite the same threat level as others.”
The Pew Research poll indicates that 78 percent of Democrats and 52 percent of Republicans say the coronavirus is a major threat to the nation’s health. It reports that 71 percent of the more than 11,000 respondents said shutting most businesses, except grocery stores or pharmacies, is necessary.
Event Appearances
The Harms and Benefits Inventory: Findings from Waves 1 and 2
2nd Moving Beyond Implications: Research Into Policy Hartford, CT - 2024
Improving U.S. Teacher Comprehension of Intervention Fidelity Self-Report Measures through Cognitive Interviewing
44th Annual Conference of the International School Psychology Association Bologna, Italy - 2023
Advancing a Transformativist Approach to Development of Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Screeners
44th Annual Conference of the International School Psychology Association Bologna, Italy - 2023
Key Takeaways from a National Exploration of Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Screening Practices in U.S. Schools
44th Annual Conference of the International School Psychology Association Bologna, Italy - 2023
Expanding the Definition of Firearm Exposure to Include Lifetime Prevalence
Society to Advance Violence and Injury Reduction Annual Meeting Denver, CO - 2023
Research Grants
Women and Firearms. A special issue for Vital City
Arnold Ventures
2025-2027
Harms and Benefits Inventory Wave
Arnold Ventures
2024-2025
Insurance as a Mechanism to Reduce Gun Violence Innovation Day
UConn ARMS
2024-2025
Gun Talk: Identifying the Facilitators and Barriers to Physician-Initiated Conversations Regarding Securing Firearms
Gun Violence Research Center (State of New Jersey)
2023
Cognitive Interviewing to Increase Comprehension of Fidelity Self-Report Measures: A Pilot Study
UConn Office of the Vice President for Research
2020-2024
Using Interviews to Learn What Physicians Can Tell Us about Facilitators and Barriers to Firearm Medical Screenings in Diverse Clinical Settings
UConn InCHIP
2020-2022
Articles
Opinion: CT lawmakers, stop treating guns like a special case
CT Viewpoints2025-04-04
Connecticut should adopt two critical bills. HB 7042 would end the extraordinary and dangerous level of legal protection firearms enjoy, and HB 7137 would ensure people who move to Connecticut from out of state are held to the same background standards as current Connecticut state residents.
Nationally and in Connecticut, the firearm industry is protected by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which shields manufacturers and dealers from liability, even when negligence results in injury or death. Firearms are also exempt from regulation by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, meaning no mandatory safety standards apply.
Breaking the Silence: The Role of Screening in Physician-Initiated Firearm Safety Conversations
Health Education & Behavior2025
This article expands and investigates what physicians perceive as facilitators and barriers to initiating preventive health education, also called anticipatory guidance or medical education, around secure firearm storage in the home (safe storage) and outside the home (Emergency Risk Protection Orders [ERPO]).
It's time to hold the adults responsible
Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionJennifer Necci Dineen and Kerri M. Raissian
2024-09-10
On Sept. 4, the United States experienced its 45th school shooting of 2024, this time at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith called the shooting “pure evil” and reported the suspected shooter would be tried as an adult. Since then, the shooter’s father has also been charged.
A criminal justice response is vital, but it cannot be our only response. Gun laws need an overhaul. The failure to do so means that we will continue charging shooters and their families and attending the funerals of those senselessly killed. Laws are the role of government. Should elected officials fail to act (again), we think it is also fair to hold them responsible for the firearm violence killing our nation’s children.
What families need to know about how to safely store firearms at home
The ConversationKerri Raissian and Jennifer Necci Dineen
2024-03-08
For the past few years, guns have been identified as the leading cause of death for children in the United States.
There were 2,571 children age 1 to 17 who died in shootings in the U.S. in 2021, 68% more than the 1,531 that occurred in 2000.
To help reduce the number of firearm-related deaths and injuries among children, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona in January 2024 called upon school and district administrators to talk with parents and guardians about safe firearm storage practices.
The Harms and Benefits Inventory (HBI): Initial Validation of a Novel Assessment of Perceived Harms and Benefits of Firearm Policy and Practice
Injury Prevention2024
Introduction
Understanding gun owners’ perceptions of potential firearm policies’ harms and benefits is critical to successful policy development and implementation. We used national survey data to develop and validate a novel instrument, the Harms and Benefits Inventory (HBI), for policy-makers and advocates to better consider the citizen perspective.
Conversation starters: Understanding the facilitators and barriers to physician-initiated secure firearm storage conversations
Patient Education and Counseling2024
Objective
This paper aims to understand what general practice physicians (GPs) perceive as facilitators and barriers to initiating anticipatory guidance around firearm safety.
District Administrators Perspectives on Current and Ideal Approaches to Identify Approaches to Identifying Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Needs.
Frontiers in Education2024
Introduction: Leadership support has been identified as a key facilitator to successful implementation of school-based initiatives. School leadership contributions to student academic success and school reform have been documented, but less work has focused on the effects of leadership on school mental health initiatives such as social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) screening. Few studies have investigated administrator knowledge and support for SEB screening or compared their current and ideal approaches to SEB screening, both of which are important to informing directions for implementation supports.
Gun Violence and Gun Policy in the United States: Understanding American Exceptionalism
The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social ScienceKerri M. Raissian, Jennifer Necci Dineen, and Cassandra Crifasi
2023-06-20
America has both the highest gun death rate (12 per 100,000 persons) and the highest gun circulation rate (about 121 firearms in circulation for every 100 persons) of any developed country. Taken together, these statistics might lead one to assume that high gun death rates in America are all but a certain outcome. However, gun death rates vary substantially across America suggesting that a range of solutions to reduce gun death and injury exist. This transdisciplinary volume contains a novel collection of articles that overview the evolution of American gun policy, presents evidence on the efficacy of both policy and non-policy interventions, and provides insight on where we go from here given American culture, norms, and legal structures.
Because Gun Violence Requires Social Science Solutions
Why Social Science?Jennifer Necci Dineen, Kerri Raissian, and Cassandra Crifasi
2023-02-28
America’s gun death rate is unacceptably high – it is well beyond that of any other developed country. In 2020, there were 45,222 gun related deaths, with 24,264 (54%) of those being suicides and 20,958 (46%) being homicides. Within America, gun violence is the leading cause of death for children (defined as persons being under the age of 18), and it is among the top 5 causes of death of those under the age of 44. These staggering statistics are why many social scientists have labeled American gun violence a “public health crisis.”
Missouri Citizen Perceptions: Giving Second Amendment Preservation Legislation a Second Look
The Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics2023
In June 2021, Missouri passed the “Second Amendment Preservation Act” (SAPA). Though SAPA passed easily and had gubernatorial support, many Missouri law enforcement agencies, including the Missouri Sheriff’s Association, oppose it. Missing from this policy conversation, and deserving of analysis, is the voice of Missouri citizens.
Good Guys With Guns May Be Heroes—But They’re Not Our Solution
NewsweekJennifer Necci Dineen and Kerri M. Raissian
2022-07-22
This past weekend, America experienced yet another mass shooting at Greenwood Park Mall in Indiana. Fortunately, an armed citizen was able to stop the shooter with his own, legally possessed gun. But his heroic success is rare, and while we applaud his courage and skill, "good guys" with guns can only (maybe) end future shootings. What we really need is to prevent them.
While it may ultimately be the case that "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun," the truth is America's "good guys" have more guns than ever before, and sadly, they have not always stopped the shooter in time. The Texas House of Representatives preliminary report revealed that in Uvalde, Texas, 376 police waited to engage the active shooter for 77 minutes due to systemic failures and miscommunication. Such failures were also seen in Parkland, Fla. in 2018, when 17 students and staff were killed.
It’s time for COVID-19 disaster relief … for mothers
The HillKerri M. Raissian and Jennifer Necci Dineen
2020-11-23
That next wave of COVID-19 is here and no place in the country seems safe from rapidly rising infection rates. While the effects of COVID will be felt in many social and economic sectors, the American family is about to be upended. As public schools from New York City to Denver to Los Angeles shift to remote learning, mothers are bracing for disaster.
Without necessary disaster relief, this is going to get increasingly and needlessly ugly. We must recognize that parents — and mothers in particular — are struggling to meet their dual employment and childcare responsibilities. Though many parents are juggling, women provide the majority of childcare — even in dual earner households. Women are leaving the labor force at higher rates than men simply because they can’t do it all.
