Abstract

Within days of the one-year anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, two students at the school died by suicide, further extending the trauma, grief, and suffering beyond the initial tragedy. Research shows that anniversaries of mass casualty incidents can trigger post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Given these suicides and the suicides that followed the Virginia Tech, Columbine, and Sandy Hook shootings, we must ask whether enough is being done to support the mental health needs of survivors of school shootings and the schools and communities in which they occur.

Author(s): Ariella Iancu, Lisa Jaycox, Joie D. Acosta, Frank G. Straub, Samantha Iovan, Christopher Nelson, Mahshid Abir