The psychological harm from mass shootings spills beyond direct survivors and into their communities, a cross-sectional study found.
Among survey participants — residents of six U.S. communities affected by recent mass violence incidents (MVIs) — 23.7% met criteria for presumptive past-year post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 8.9% met criteria for current PTSD, based on their survey responses.
And these were not just people who said either they or a close friend or family member were on site at the shooting: though most PTSD cases occurred in those with this high exposure to the MVI, respondents with no direct exposure still met the criteria for past-year and current PTSD in 21.0% and 8.9% of cases, according to researchers led by Angela Moreland, PhD, a psychologist at Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, reporting in JAMA Network Openopens in a new tab or window.
Moreland’s group at MUSC has been responding to various mass shootings in the U.S. by disseminating informational pamphlets […]
I agree wholeheartedly! We need new gun laws NOW! I read a lot and know what you say is true, Stephan! We are the worst country in the world for gun violence. We need to eliminate ALL guns! I am a vegetarian and do not believe there is any need for ANY type of gun in America! I do not believe in killing any animal; especially humans! Some “hunters” shoot people by so-called “accident” so even shooting animals for food should be abolished; even though a lot of people disagree with me; I do not care what they think!