In the last two decades, more than 240,000 children have been directly exposed to school shootings, says Maya Rossin-Slater, an assistant professor of health research and policy at 海角乱伦社区 and senior fellow at the . 鈥淭hese are things that have become the new normal in American society, and we know very little about how they affect kids and families,鈥 she says.
On this episode of School鈥檚 In, Rossin-Slater joins GSE Dean Dan Schwartz and Senior Lecturer Denise Pope to talk about the broader cost of school shootings and how she is using the tools of applied microeconomics to study the impact of school shootings on young people鈥檚 mental and emotional well-being.
鈥淲e found that in the two years following a fatal school shooting, the antidepressant prescription rate increased by 21 percent,鈥 she says. 鈥淭his effect persisted three years out in the local vicinity of schools that experienced fatal shootings.鈥
Given the shortage of school counselors nationwide, Rossin-Slater says it鈥檚 critical that schools and communities put mental health care resources in place to help students鈥攅specially those from disadvantaged backgrounds鈥攅ffectively cope with the long-term effects of school shooting trauma.
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