By Sofia Viladeris
Overview of Shootings
More than 300 mass shootings have already taken place in the US this year; the most recent was on March 27, 2023, at The Covenant School, a private Presbyterian Church in America parochial school in the Green Hills section of Nashville, Tennessee. Many point to mental illness as the underlying reason for these public atrocities, which are happening more often throughout the country.
Children who lived in the neighborhood or even in another state as well as those who attended the school where the incident took place are also affected. A UChicago Harris/AP-NORC Poll conducted in August 2022 found that 4 in 10 Americans thought they may experience gun violence during the next five years.
Most of us find it difficult to comprehend how somebody could shoot a kid or young person, particularly on school property, regardless of their age, connections, or grievances.
Even when the most frequent school shootings seldom result in many casualties, even one kid being shot has effects that go far beyond the people immediately affected. Witnesses to school shootings are more likely to have traumatic stress symptoms, experience anxiety or depression, and worry about their overall safety. While many witnesses may have transient effects, some will experience symptoms for a much longer time and may even experience the onset of persistent psychological problems. Even temporary deficiencies may have a significant negative influence on a student’s academic performance as well as their social and emotional development.
A Cycle on Distress and Youth on High Alert
Even though mass shootings only cause roughly 1% of all gun fatalities in the U.S. each year, they command a disproportionate amount of attention from the general public. Suffering is sometimes very intense for those who survived the shootings and for those who saw them. Studies have shown that survivors of mass shootings are more likely to have PTSD, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, drug use disorder, and other problems.
Mass shootings may only be seen by a small number of people, but many more may experience them through news coverage and social media. Numerous studies have shown that people who are remote from major shootings may experience anxiety and impairments, and that this is often connected to how much media exposure they get. Given how closely people’s lives are entwined with the media, experts think these results are quite troubling. Individuals with past experiences of trauma are more likely to develop post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms after a new exposure, like a terrorist attack or mass shooting, in addition to the dangers associated with media exposure. A larger risk of mental health issues is also present when an occurrence is physically close by. Antidepressant usage climbed more than 20% among young people who lived within 5 miles of a shooting compared to those who lived 10 to 15 miles away, according to one study of 44 school shootings.
We are unable to reach the higher functions of our brains when danger perceptions are amplified and stress reactions are triggered. There is a social influence in addition to the truly negative repercussions that affect specific young individuals. A multi-tiered strategy is required to reduce damage since mass shootings have an effect on children and teenagers on an individual, institutional, and societal level, according to experts. Even if they are not a member of the community that was impacted, starting dialogues with kids and teenagers after an occurrence is crucial in the home context.
Children often do better when they initially learn about these events from their parents rather than from their friends or the media. A kid or adolescent may need professional care if they start to become overly cautious or if they begin to avoid certain locations or activities. Additionally, educators and decision-makers need scientific evidence on factors that contribute to physical and psychological safety in schools.
How Does Media Coverage of Mass Shootings Affect Mental Health?
People have a natural tendency to slow down, turn, and stare as they pass an automobile accident. Despite the fact that we are aware that rubbernecking might lead to traffic issues, our brains and sight cannot help but do it.
When mass violence is covered in the media, everyone seems to respond similarly. Research released in Science Advances suggests that seeing and discussing such gruesome events in the media may be harmful to humans. The study demonstrates that seeing news of a mass murder increases people’s propensity to watch coverage of a following major catastrophe as well as their risk of developing post-traumatic stress symptoms. The repetition of mass murders in the media leads to a cycle of suffering in which viewers might have flashbacks relating to their trauma, then display new indicators of trauma.
Despite these tendencies, there is still some scientific disagreement on whether media stories may really cause post-traumatic stress disorder. The classic examples of individuals who might be affected by news broadcasts include combat troops, sexual assault survivors, or anyone who reside in a neighborhood where a catastrophe happens. Researchers have known for years that news reports can exacerbate PTSD in persons who have personally experienced trauma. But a controversial claim made by this current research and others is that all it takes for someone to develop traumatic stress is exposure to a vivid recounting of trauma. The DSM-5, the most recent version of the handbook used to diagnose mental illnesses, makes a point of eliminating media exposure as a trauma trigger since the subject is so divisive. Should the hosts or distributors of the information, such as news organizations and social media platforms, be held accountable for this injury if media is shown to cause mental health distress? Those who support yes may face challenges in the legal system.
Do Mass Shootings Affect Certain Groups of People Differently?
The third worst school shooting in American history occurred on May 24 at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, when a shooter murdered 19 children and two teachers. It was, however, just the most recent example of a pattern of American tragedies that, according to experts, is burdening students across the board—even the youngest—with increased levels of worry and other mental-health issues.
Children are profoundly impacted by school shootings, even if they are not directly engaged, according to Kira Riehm, a postdoctoral associate at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. As a consequence, they often develop anxiety and sadness. According to Riehm, “These events are very high profile, and they are portrayed hugely in the media.” Additionally, they occur with frightening regularity. According to Education Week’s school shooting tracker, there were 27 school shootings in 2022 that resulted in injuries or fatalities.
Riehm and other researchers polled more than 2,000 students in the 11th and 12th grades in Los Angeles on their fears of shootings and other forms of violence at their own or other schools for a study that was published in JAMA in 2021. Following up with the same students, researchers discovered that those who were initially more concerned were more likely to still meet the requirements for generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder six months later. This finding raises the possibility that children internalize their fears, which can later manifest as diagnosable mental-health conditions, according to Riehm. When they focused on Black students, the researchers did discover a relationship between anxiety about school violence and the onset of depression, albeit not generally.
Younger children are even more likely than older ones to experience symptoms like anxiety and PTSD as a result of shootings, says Dr. Aradhana Bela Sood, a professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at Virginia Commonwealth University. Children of all ages are at risk for developing these types of symptoms after shootings. Elementary school students will likely experience far more hardship than older teenagers. The researcher also mentions that younger children lack “those defenses, those capacities to sort things out in the brain.” They just lack life experiences and they are unable to comprehend this.
For a long time, American schoolchildren have expressed a great deal of fear over guns. Researchers conducted a nationwide poll of high school students soon after the 1999 Columbine High School tragedy, which claimed the lives of 13 individuals. Compared to national survey data gathered before the massacre, their findings—which were published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine—found that 30% more kids reported feeling uncomfortable at school. According to Sood, this is an example of “vicarious traumatization,” which may happen when a youngster learns about a disaster or sees photos of it—even if they do not personally experience it. According to Sood, this kind of exposure is significantly more likely to cause long-term harm in youngsters who have previously shown anxiety or depression symptoms, which characterizes an increasing percentage of American children. According to Sood, “There are some kids that I would be very vigilant about.”
One of the numerous causes of the escalating mental-health problem among American teenagers is the constant danger of gun violence. Other significant problems are COVID-19 and the environment. The Children’s Hospital Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, and American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry joined forces to proclaim a national emergency for children’s mental health in November 2021. The experts said in their report that “We are caring for young people with soaring rates of depression, anxiety, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality that will have a long-term effect on them, their families, and their communities.”
What Can We Do to Prevent Any More From Happening?
Encouraging kids to express their ideas and worries can contribute to the reduction of violence in schools. Before students’ emotions control their behaviors and reactions, counseling professionals can intervene early to prevent further outbursts. The development of safety initiatives with crisis preventative measures, readiness, reaction, and recovery is another skill that school counselors may use to promote effective disciplinary measures and positive conduct. This will guarantee that crisis training plans are consistently used and reinforced in the classroom. In order to ensure both their own safety and the protection of others, counselors must be able to recognize at-risk adolescents who are dealing with a mental health issue and are capable of acting aggressively when they are upset. All students receive counseling to develop the skills they need and get over obstacles to learning and growth. Counselors at schools can help children who need it get mental health care that may not be available elsewhere, which helps to curb disruptive behavior and boost attendance and academic performance. It is time to address mental health and do everything in our power to avert the continuation of this devastating issue.
References
https://time.com/6182235/mass-shootings-children-mental-health-anxiety-depression/
