Following a Fatal Campus Shooting, Coping Self-Efficacy and Coping Styles Interact to Predict Posttraumatic Growth

Gun violence in U.S. academic settings has increased in recent years, posing significant psychological and social challenges for affected communities. In the aftermath of a campus shooting, community members employ a range of coping strategies to manage their distress; decisions that may be moderated by their perceived efficacy to cope with stressors. Moreover, coping that yields deliberate reflection on these challenges could potentially bring about meaningful posttraumatic growth (PTG). This study examined whether coping efforts and coping self-efficacy could plausibly interact to facilitate the development of posttraumatic growth (PTG) in a sample of university community members after a fatal campus shooting. Approximately 3-to-4 months after the shooting, 229 staff, faculty, students, and administrators (Mage = 36.0, 61% women, 70% White) completed an online survey including measures of coping style, coping self-efficacy, and PTG. Cross-sectional moderated mediation analysis with latent variable modeling indicated that high levels of coping self-efficacy strengthened the positive association between avoidant coping (AC) and problem-focused coping (PFC), with PFC mediating the positive association between AC and PTG. These findings support conceptualizations suggesting that individuals who engage in PFC may simultaneously experience PTG alongside psychological distress. Given this study’s cross-sectional design precludes conclusions about directionality of relations, future longitudinal research is necessary to replicate these findings. Nonetheless, study results support the rationale for university-wide efforts to augment and activate individuals’ coping repertoires, and to provide accessible, supportive settings for reflection to meet community psychological needs after a campus shooting.