Research shows PTSD from mass shootings can haunt community members for years

Mass shootings and other traumatic events hit community members hard, with those closest to the incident often experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) years later, new research shows. The study was published July 26 in the journal JAMA Network Opened.

“The consequences of mass violence incidents in communities extend beyond the immediate survivors. Many adults living in those communities suffer from persistent PTSD,” concluded a team led by Angela Moreland, a professor of psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

Her team looked at data from a 2020 survey of nearly 6,000 adults. They all lived in one of six communities hit hard by a mass shooting that occurred between 2015 and 2019: Dayton, Ohio; El Paso, Texas; Parkland, Florida; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; San Bernardino, California; and Virginia Beach, Virginia.

People were asked about their exposure to the event: whether they were actually there or near someone who was. Questions were also asked to assess possible PTSD related to the event, as well as other past traumatic events they had experienced and how much social support they felt they had.

About one in five respondents said they had experienced the shooting themselves or knew someone who had experienced the shooting.

About one in four people surveyed met criteria for PTSD they had experienced in the year before the survey, and 9% met criteria for current PTSD, Moreland’s group found.

People were 66% and 82% more likely to meet criteria for past or current PTSD if they had been directly or closely involved in the shooting, respectively.

Women were more likely to have PTSD as a result of such events. People who had experienced traumatic events before the shooting were also more susceptible to PTSD, the researchers found.

A low level of ‘social support’ also increased the risk.

Overall, the research suggests that people may experience psychological distress as a result of large-scale violent incidents in their communities, even if they are not directly affected by them.

Therefore, Moreland and her team advise that “mental health screening efforts following mass violent incidents should not focus exclusively on those directly exposed.”

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