Supporting Children After School Shootings

David J Schonfeld; Thomas Demaria

doi:10.1016/j.pcl.2019.12.006

Supporting Children After School Shootings

Pediatr Clin North Am. 2020 Apr;67(2):397-411. doi: 10.1016/j.pcl.2019.12.006.

Authors

David J Schonfeld¹, Thomas Demaria²

Affiliations

¹ National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, 4650 Sunset Boulevard, #53, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA; Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Electronic address: schonfel@usc.edu.
² National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

PMID: 32122568
DOI: 10.1016/j.pcl.2019.12.006

Abstract

Anticipatory guidance should be provided to families on identifying and addressing common adjustment reactions after a school shooting. Although adjustment difficulties may be related to post-traumatic and grief reactions, many will not be directly attributable to the school shooting. Understanding how to cope with associated worries and reactions can help children better adjust. Pediatricians can assist with guidance about the development of a reasonable timeline for emotional and academic recovery, traumatic stress/loss, coping strategies, support for students with special needs, identification of students most in need of support, identification of staff who are most likely impacted, and appropriate preparedness activities.

Keywords: Adjustment; Bereavement; Coping; Crisis; School; Shooting.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Adaptation, Psychological*
Bereavement
Child
Firearms*
Humans
Mass Casualty Incidents*
Pediatricians*
Physician's Role*
Schools*
Social Support
Students / psychology*
United States