Mental health effects of exposure to gun violence

Many children and adolescents in the United States are exposed to neighborhood gun violence. Associations between violence exposure and children’s short-term mental health are not well understood. Exposure to neighborhood gun violence is associated with an increase in children’s acute mental health symptoms. City health departments and pediatric health care systems should work together to provide community-based support for children and families exposed to violence and trauma-informed care for the subset of these children who subsequently present to the ED. Policies aimed at reducing children’s exposure to neighborhood gun violence and mitigating the mental symptoms associated with gun violence exposure must be a public health priority. (author abstract)