title: Negative freedom and death in the United States.
abstract: Personal freedoms have been characterized as "positive" (freedom to pursue opportunities) and "negative" (freedom from external constraints on decision making). An ecological analysis of US data revealed a strong positive association (r = 0.41; P = .003) between state-level negative personal freedom (defined in terms of regulation of personal behavior) and state-level age-adjusted rates of unintentional injury. A conceptual emphasis on positive freedom construed as freedom to pursue a life without risk of unintentional injury could help motivate a conversation to improve public health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health and Sustainability, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854, USA. leland_ackerson@uml.edu
authors.forename: Leland K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Ackerson
authors.forename: S V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Subramanian
mesh_terms: D005610:Freedom; D015438:Health Behavior; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D007878:Legislation as Topic; D011634:Public Health; D012309:Risk-Taking; D014481:United States; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*