Parent and youth worry about school shootings and connections with youth well-being and stress: A cross-sectional survey study

Background Rising rates of school shootings, firearm-related deaths, and gun sales in the U.S. have intensified the ongoing youth mental health crisis, contributing to widespread trauma and fear among young people. In cities like Chicago, where community gun violence is prevalent, youth face compounded mental health challenges shaped by both personal and collective exposure to violence. As a result, there is an urgent need to better understand how gun violence impacts youth mental health to inform effective public health and community-based interventions. Objectives This study aimed to assess worry about school shootings among Chicago parents and youth, and to better understand how a youth’s level of worry about a shooting happening at their school is associated with their well-being and stress level. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from October-November 2022 through the Voices of Child Health in Chicago (VOCHIC) Parent Panel Survey, which surveyed parents from all 77 neighborhoods in Chicago about their own and their child’s level of worry about a shooting occurring at the child’s school or daycare setting. Inclusion criteria included being ≥18 years old, living in Chicago, and being the parent/guardian of at least one child aged 0-17 years living in the same household. Parents with one or more children between the ages of 12-17 years were also asked about their child’s levels of well-being and stress. Results Surveys were completed by 1,129 Chicago parents. Two-thirds of parents reported being very/somewhat worried (67%) and 40% said their child was very/somewhat worried about a shooting happening at their child’s school or daycare. Means difference tests indicated that higher parent-reported child worry was associated with lower reported levels of youth well-being and higher reported levels of youth stress, even for children with relatively low parent-reported levels of worry. Conclusion In 2022, Chicago parents of school-aged children reported high levels of worry about a school shooting happening at their child’s school. Although worry among youth was reported by their parents as being lower than their own level of worry, any level of parent-reported youth worry about a school shooting was associated with worse reported emotional outcomes for the youth. Policy Implications Our results reveal that, based on parents’ perceptions, a child’s worry about a shooting happening at their own school or daycare takes a toll on their mental health. This finding highlights the urgent need for legislation and action to prevent school shootings to protect not only the physical health and safety of youth but also their mental health.