Thread by @meganranney

5 years ago, I wrote with @Rsbeidas about how the drumbeat of trauma was changing our kids.

Since then, the frequency of shootings has accelerated. #Gunviolence has overtaken car crashes as the LEADING cause of death for American youth.

nbcnews.com/think/opinion/…

We then examined the data scientifically. YES there is a link between exposure to gun violence, & future #mentalhealth issues among youth.

(Caveat: our review also found incomplete evidence in many areas, & very little on interventions.)

psycnet.apa.org/record/2019-45…

This morning, on the wake of the #michiganstateshooting, I had to tell my daughter that there was a social media threat against our school system yesterday. (The threat was deemed not credible, but there will still be an increased police presence today at school.)

Should we be surprised that our kids are drowning in a wave of #mentalhealth issues? That we’ve seen a ***60%*** increase in youth considering suicide over the past decade?

It didn’t - and doesn’t - have to be this way.

nbcnews.com/health/health-…

*nb: the increase in suicidal thoughts is likely due to many, many factors - but the constant drumbeat of violence & violent threats is clearly one of them.

Also as @laurenpeikoff points out:

https://twitter.com/laurenpeikoff/status/1625479680114454529

And a beautiful, haunting, accurate piece by @JohnWoodrowCox @dataeditor washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/…