Utilization of Crisis Services Following the Mass School Shooting in Uvalde, TX (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Mass shootings result in widespread psychological trauma for survivors and members of the affected community. However, less is known about the broader effects of indirect exposure (e.g., media) to mass shootings. Crisis lines offer a unique opportunity to examine real-time data on the widespread psychological effects of mass shootings. OBJECTIVE This study examines changes in the volume and composition of firearm-related texts to Crisis Text Line (CTL), a not-for-profit company that provides 24-7 confidential text-based mental health support and crisis intervention service, before and after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. METHODS A quasi-experimental event study design was used to compare the actual firearm conversation volume post-shooting to forecasted firearm conversation volume under the counterfactual scenario that a shooting had not occurred. Conversations related to firearms were identified among all conversations using keyword searches. Additionally, proportions of issue tags (topics coded by CTL volunteer Crisis Counselors (vCCs) after the exchange) were compared in the four days before (N=249), and after (N=419), the shooting to assess changes in conversation characteristics. RESULTS There was a significant increase in the number of conversations mentioning firearms following the shooting, with the largest spike (compared to forecasted numbers), occurring the day after the shooting (N= 159), May 25th. By May 28th, volume reverted to within the 95% confidence interval of forecasted volume (N= 77). Within firearm conversations, “bereavement” issue tags showed a significant increase in proportion in the week following the shooting, while “isolation”, “relationships”, and “suicide” issue tags showed a decrease in proportions the week following the shooting. CONCLUSIONS : The results suggest that the Uvalde school shooting caused measurable increases in demand for crisis services, above what would be expected given historical trends. This work adds to a growing evidence base documenting and measuring the rippling effects of mass shootings outside of those directly impacted.