School shootings: A narrative review

School shootings: A narrative review

Tiffany Field, PhD

University of Miami/Miller School of Medicine and Fielding Graduate University

This narrative review of recent literature on school shootings includes studies suggesting that the three salient predictors of school shootings include mental illness that is untreated, estrangement from friends, families and classmates and accessibility to guns. Other issues in this literature include the communication of an intent to harm suggesting a “cry for help” and contagiousness of school shootings. Several studies document the relationship between the lack of gun control and school shootings. The mental health of those exposed to school shootings has been the subject of research suggesting that those especially who had close exposure to the shooting or had a relationship with the shooter have experienced psychiatric problems including depression, anxiety, PTSD and suicidal ideation. Extremely high prevalence figures have been reported for exposure to violence by students at 42% witnessing a shooting, 18% a murder and 54% a murder of someone who is close. And as many as 21% have experienced depression, 46% lifetime PTSD and 27% current PTSD. Although a significant number of students have been injured during school shootings, no attention has been given to those students. This review highlights the mental health issues experienced not only by the shooters but by those who have been exposed to the shootings and the need for interventions as well as more effective gun legislation.

Keywords: narrative review; school shootings

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How to cite this article:

Tiffany Field. School shootings: A narrative review. International Journal of Psychological Research and Reviews, 2022, 5:62. DOI: 10.28933/ijprr-2022-07-1805tf

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