JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Three people were killed in a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego yesterday, and that location is also home to the pre-K to third grade classes of the mosque’s Islamic school. Even though the students were safe inside their classrooms when the shooting happened, researchers and healthcare providers say that kids are particularly vulnerable to the emotional toll of such violence. Here to tell us more is NPR’s mental health correspondent Rhitu Chatterjee. Hi there.
RHITU CHATTERJEE, BYLINE: Hi, Juana.
SUMMERS: Rhitu, I mean, I have to imagine that just everyone in this community, no matter how old they are, must be really just traumatized by what happened yesterday.
CHATTERJEE: Oh, absolutely. It was a tragic and traumatic event. And, you know, people who lost a loved one yesterday are obviously most affected. And the same goes for people who witnessed the shooting, including the children inside the classrooms. Now, both these groups are most at risk of what mental healthcare experts call post-traumatic stress. And, you know, in the months following the shooting, they can experience symptoms of acute stress – so things like having flashbacks, nightmares, wanting to avoid talking about what happened, avoiding going to the mosque or even in the area because it’s a reminder of their trauma.
SUMMERS: Yeah. Now, kids – do they have the same risk of post-traumatic stress as adults do or, I wonder, of the same kinds of symptoms?
CHATTERJEE: They absolutely do have the same risks, especially the children who witnessed the shootings and children who’ve lost a loved one to gun violence. Now, symptoms in kids can include nightmares and flashbacks, and really young kids – they can have trouble sleeping. They might cry a lot, be inconsolable. And PTSD in teens can then lead to other risky behaviors like substance abuse, as well as sometimes suicidal thinking.
I spoke with psychologist Julie Kaplow. She’s an expert on grief and trauma in children at the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute in Texas. And she told me kids exposed to gun violence can experience fear and anxiety afterwards, which can show up in their behavior, including…
JULIE KAPLOW: Excessive clinginess, not wanting to separate from their caregiver or another caring adult, they may often show irritability or behavioral regression.
CHATTERJEE: So for example, you know, a child who was potty-trained is now having accidents. A child who was fine sleeping alone is scared to do that now.
SUMMERS: Right. So can parents and teachers help kids recover when they go through an experience like this?
CHATTERJEE: Absolutely. You know, they play a huge role in helping buffer kids from the aftereffects of this kind of trauma. Experts I spoke with said that parents and caregivers should try to establish a sense of – reestablish a sense of safety for kids, and that should start with giving them a sense of psychological safety. That means that kids should feel safe to come forward and talk to parents and teachers or other caregivers for support when they are struggling and answer their questions. You know, adults often think like – that not talking to kids will actually…
SUMMERS: Yeah.
CHATTERJEE: …Protect them, but it’s actually the opposite because not talking makes the, you know, subject taboo, and kids might feel ashamed of their emotional struggles. And so it’s important for parents to talk to kids about what happened, answer their questions, you know, explain to them that it’s normal to feel anxious, help them cope…
SUMMERS: Yeah.
CHATTERJEE: …With their anxiety and return to their routines. Those can go a long way in helping kids recover.
SUMMERS: NPR’s Rhitu Chatterjee, thanks so much.
CHATTERJEE: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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