How Do School Shooting Affect Society?
Newtown, Columbine, Jonesboro and Olivehurst are just a few of the locations that witnessed the catastrophe of school shootings. According to Centers of Disease Control and Prevention’s website (2016), the second leading cause of death among children between the age of 5 and 18 is “homicide”. Data shows that 1% to 2% of these cases take place on school properties, or on the way to or from them. Losing even a single life is one too many.
Children, parents, and school staff are all affected by a school shooting. These affects could be behavioral, physical or mental, and the results include, but are not limited to anxiety and fear about safety of self and others; changes in school performance, difficulty with authority; redirection, or criticism; emotional numbing by re-experiencing the trauma through nightmares (NCTSN, 2008). Not only that, but sadly any kid who witness a school shooting has a striking 77% chance of suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is a mental disease triggered by a terrifying event (Takeda, 2012). According to Beland and Kim (2015), there has been a significant reduction in the enrollment of students to grade 9, as well as a significant reduction in the standardized test results of two subjects (Math and English).
A school shooting can also affect parents—mostly psychologically—according to Sharf (2013), who stated that surviving children and their parents, who already face a swarm of feelings that include shock, rage, and unhappiness, may develop PTSD. In a study prepared by Turunen (2014) on children that were taken hostage in a Russian school in Beslan back in 2004, and their parents, the results showed that both children and parents had a high level of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). In addition to parents, school staff can also be affected by a school shooting. In a study by Newman et al. (2004) on the school shootings at West Paducah, Kentucky, and Jonesboro, Arkansas, they came to the conclusion that school staff who witnessed a school shooting would suffer from several negative long-term consequences, including, but not limited to, illness, divorce, PTSD, and career change.
Some people think that hiring armed guards is the answer to feeling safe, and others think that arming the school staff themselves is a much better idea. These all are ineffective solutions which are difficult to implement, as such there is no easy solution. One of the most powerful solutions that could be provided by the parents themselves to help keep their children safe during a school shooting, would be to talk to their children about shootings, and to provide some tips on what to do in such event. Examples could be telling them to ask for help by calling the police, instructing them to hide under the table, and locking the door. A child psychologist might also help to relieve any concerns ensuing from the discussion. In addition, schools should perform drills on school shootings, and work side-by-side with the law enforcement authorities to establish easy communication lines. Finally, gun laws should be strengthened, making it more difficult to own a gun legally than it is currently; in my opinion, the main reason for school shootings is the easy access to guns.
Please remember to always stay safe, watch your surroundings, and pay close attention to those you communicate with. The below video is a short video prepared by Sandy Hook Promise Organization to teach us that “Gun Violence is Preventable When You Know The Signs”.
References:
Beland, L. P., and Kim, D. (2015). The Effect of High School Shootings on Schools and Student Performance. Retrieved from http://faculty.bus.lsu.edu/papers/pap15_05.pdf
Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). School-Associated Violent Death Study. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/youthviolence/schoolviolence/SAVD.html
NCTSN. (2008). Psychological and Behavioral Impact of Trauma: Elementary School Students. Retrieved from https://www.isbe.net/Documents/trauma-elementary.pdf
Newman, K. S., Fox, C., Harding, D. J., Mehta, J., & Roth, W. (2004). Rampage: The social roots of school shootings. NY: Basic Books.
Sharf, S. (2013). Survivors and their parents may develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Anxiety.Org. Retrieved from https://www.anxiety.org/#about-us
Takeda, A. (2012). PTSD in Kids: The Lasting Trauma of School Shootings. Everyday Health. Retrieved from https://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/0301/ptsd-in-kids-the-lasting-trauma-of-school-shootings.aspx