In the article, “Surviving a school shooting: Impacts on the mental health, education, and earnings of American youth” (Stanford University, Maya Rossin-Slater 2022) I’ve learned that American youth affected by gun violence – especially school shootings – have shown to cause trauma with a long lasting negative impact on their lives. The publisher of this article, Maya Rossin-Slater states that in the educational aspect, students affected by a school shooting are more likely to have a decline in their studies and or is more likely to drop out of school. In terms of mental health, there’s been a proliferation in the number of antidepressant prescriptions written to youth who have been exposed to gun violence. To add onto this claim, it’s shown that students exposed to shootings are less likely to be employed and to have a lower annual earning.
I think that what’s happening with gun violence surrounding students is a huge crisis. I believe that the wellness of American youth should be taken more into consideration due to the surge of school shootings and because now we have evidence of the long term effects and how negatively exposure to gun violence can have on students. I think that now there’s new research coming out about the trauma gun violence can have on youth, it can be easier to back up the argument of having more gun restrictions. This helps answer one of my research questions, “Is gun violence a serious problem in America?” and I’m starting to believe it is because of the long term negative effects it has on people.
As I continue to learn more about gun violence/ gun laws, I want to know if these long-lasting effects will change how the public thinks; difference in outlook on gun debate.
