Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Why the media will slow the healing of Sandy Hook

Kristina Fiore
Conditions
December 22, 2012
Share
Tweet
Share

When Newtown children returned to area elementary schools less than a week after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary, the cameras were watching, a reality that may slow healing in the Connecticut community.

Although there’s no literature that’s specific to the effects of a media frenzy after a school shooting on children’s psychological recovery, there’s plenty of other applicable evidence, according to Rahil Briggs, PsyD, of The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, N.Y.

“There are certain things we know for sure and can extrapolate easily,” Briggs told MedPage Today. “So the short answer is yes, this media presence has an effect on the ability to get back to normal.”

Mainly, a steady flow of paparazzi is a stumbling block to getting back into a routine — which is the key to speeding psychological recovery for all members of the community right now.

‘Routine’ as an agent of healing

“Routine is incredibly important to a young child. It provides a sense of safety,” Briggs said. “When you’re recovering from a trauma like they are starting to do, routine is even more important.”

Alan Kazdin, PhD, director of the Yale Parenting Center, said the cameras make the experience salient. Media attention for a positive event would have a great impact on a community, Kazdin said, but reinforcing a negative event through constant interviews and questioning is a road block to recovery.

“That’s the last thing you want to do right now,” Kazdin told MedPage Today. “It just fuels the fire and makes it a departure from routine, which is not good for trauma and anxiety at all.”

Constantly seeing their hometown on television also enhances the negative experience for children and may even contribute to symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

“We know from a number of studies of the Oklahoma City bombing, the Challenger disaster, and Sept. 11 that watching the event on television can cause PTSD,” said Eugene Beresin, MD, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

While the kids who experience the traumatic event up close are more likely to develop the condition, Beresin noted, this type of “secondary terrorism” from constant replay can also contribute to pathology.

Those studies of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks showed that even children who were far away and “didn’t have anything to do with the World Trade Center, who had no relatives in New York, saw it on TV and had symptoms of PTSD,” Kazdin said, so the effects could be even more damaging for those who have a close connection to the trauma.

Replaying tragedy

ADVERTISEMENT

Indeed, the replay is what troubles Joshua Klapow, PhD, an expert in psychology and health policy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Klapow disagrees that the persistent media presence is a hindrance to getting back to a normal routine because nothing about Newtown children’s lives is going to feel routine or normal for a while.

But the constant daily visual reminders of the event will make children more vulnerable to psychological issues, he said.

On the other hand, some question whether there is value in talking with media about the losses they sustain during a tragedy, since it enables the family to honor their loved ones and to give voice to their feelings.

Some Newtown families, children at their sides, willingly spoke to media during candlelight vigils and other memorials, even just days after the attack.

“They wanted to feel some meaning in the loss,” Beresin said. “It may have been valuable for them to talk about it, to feel that they’re helping others. They feel that something can be done about the loss, that it’s not just a loss in vain.”

Klapow cautioned, however, that the impetus for putting a child on TV needs to be considered. Only if that child willingly volunteers to talk should such an interview be seen as helpful. A parent pushing a child to speak would only be detrimental, he said.

Nevertheless, many feel that the coverage has gone on too long and that it’s time for media to pull out and give Newtown time to heal in private.

“No one expects it to get back to normal any time soon,” Briggs said. “But any effort to make it feel like it’s approaching normal is a good thing.”

Cora Breuner, MD, MPH, of Seattle Children’s Hospital, agreed that the best course of action would be for the town to finally be able to mourn privately in hopes of moving on.

“We shouldn’t be interested in seeing these kids go back to school, just out of respect for the kids and families, especially the ones who lost children,” Breuner said. “It’s so much harder to deal with loss when there’s a camera in your face.”

Kristina Fiore is a staff writer at MedPage Today, where this article was originally published.

Prev

Make the correct choice for cancer treatment: Questions to ask

December 22, 2012 Kevin 2
…
Next

Improve your work life balance: A schedule hack for doctors

December 22, 2012 Kevin 10
…

Tagged as: Emergency Medicine, Mainstream media

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Make the correct choice for cancer treatment: Questions to ask
Next Post >
Improve your work life balance: A schedule hack for doctors

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Kristina Fiore

  • A previously healthy clinician, now critically ill with COVID-19

    Kristina Fiore
  • Is medicine really a model family-friendly profession?

    Kristina Fiore
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Involuntary commitment for James Holmes: Is his psychiatrist to blame?

    Kristina Fiore

More in Conditions

  • Clinical ghosts and why they haunt our exam rooms

    Kara Wada, MD
  • High blood pressure’s hidden impact on kidney health in older adults

    Edmond Kubi Appiah, MPH
  • How declining MMR vaccination rates put future generations at risk

    Ambika Sharma, Onyi Oligbo, and Katrina Green, MD
  • How one unforgettable ER patient taught a nurse about resilience

    Kristen Cline, BSN, RN
  • Why regular exercise is the best prescription for lifelong health

    George F. Smith, MD
  • When the weight won’t budge: the hidden physiology of grief, stress, and set point

    Sarah White, APRN
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Clinical ghosts and why they haunt our exam rooms

      Kara Wada, MD | Conditions
    • High blood pressure’s hidden impact on kidney health in older adults

      Edmond Kubi Appiah, MPH | Conditions
    • Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How declining MMR vaccination rates put future generations at risk

      Ambika Sharma, Onyi Oligbo, and Katrina Green, MD | Conditions
    • The physician who turned burnout into a mission for change

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Clinical ghosts and why they haunt our exam rooms

      Kara Wada, MD | Conditions
    • High blood pressure’s hidden impact on kidney health in older adults

      Edmond Kubi Appiah, MPH | Conditions
    • Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How declining MMR vaccination rates put future generations at risk

      Ambika Sharma, Onyi Oligbo, and Katrina Green, MD | Conditions
    • The physician who turned burnout into a mission for change

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Why the media will slow the healing of Sandy Hook
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...