The latest mass shootings have led to calls for enhanced reporting of mental health records. But mental health experts say that would have little, if any, impact. News coverage of the recent shootings at a school in Rancho Tehama, CA, focused on the shooter’s mental history, but according to Dr. Larry Davidson, a psychologist at Yale University, only 2% of gun violence is committed by people with serious mental illness.

A 2016 report by the American Psychiatric Association suggests that focusing on behavior, coping skills and conflict resolution would be more effective. Davidson pointed out that people with serious mental illness are more in danger of themselves than they are to others.