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Just hours after former sailor Ian David Long killed himself and 12 other people at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks on Wednesday night, observers hypothesized that post-traumatic stress disorder had played a role in the attack.
The Sheriff of Ventura County alluded to it. One of the former roommates from Long to Reseda mentioned it. Even the President of the United States has said.
But psychology experts believe that it is premature to think that Long suffered from PTSD – or that it could have prompted him to open fire in a bar filled with young adults.
"Unless somebody comes to say that this man was suffering from PTSD or was being treated for PTSD, there was no reason to think that he was suffering from PTSD," said Lisa Jaycox. , specialized scientist in the field of behavior and psychologist react to violence.
Jaycox's earlier work has shown that even among veterans who have attended combat, less than one in five have PTSD. She also said that violent behavior was not a common symptom of the illness.
Jaycox spoke with the Los Angeles Times about myths and facts about PTSD.
Q: Do we know for sure that Thousand Oaks' shooter had post-traumatic stress disorder?
R: No We know he has seen fighting in Afghanistan, but it's only a small part of people who develop post-traumatic stress disorder after such an experience.
In my own work, when we looked at recent deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, about 14% of them had PTSD. This is not the norm.
Q: Whenever a mbad shooter has a military background, people quickly blame him for PTSD. Does it make sense?
R: No Twenty symptoms are badociated with this disorder. One of them is anger and irritability, but it is not the predominant image of posttraumatic stress disorder. Most people with PTSD are not violent.
What may be more relevant here is that military personnel who have violent explosions are more likely than others to own a firearm privately and to have advanced firearms training.
Q: What is post-traumatic stress disorder?
A: I think it's a very human reaction to a traumatic event, then an inability to recover.
In the aftermath of a mbad shootout, I'm sure everyone in attendance will think about it all the time in the days and weeks that follow – dreaming, having trouble concentrating on work or relationships. But if these symptoms persist for more than a month, then they are clbadified in PTSD.
Q: What are the other symptoms?
A: They group together in four areas. Relive the trauma, so flashbacks, nightmares, recurring thoughts. Then there is the excitement, which includes irritability, difficulty concentrating and difficulty sleeping.
Another set of symptoms relates to weaning and numbness: feeling disconnected from people and blunted. And finally, avoid things that might remind you of the trauma – do not want to talk about it and avoid certain people and places.
Q: Do most people with PTSD develop it as a result of military service?
R: No It is much more common to be exposed to it through community violence, badual violence or badual badault.
In the Los Angeles County School System, we showed that one-third of children exposed to violence in the community suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Most of these children fly completely under the radar. It's the seventh year girl sitting quietly at her desk or the eighth grade boy playing basketball. They do not shoot people.
Q: Are people with PTSD more likely to commit mbad shootings?
A: I would say no, but I do not think there is good data on this because these events are so rare. But again, there is not much risk of being violent in case of PTSD.
Q: When we think of PTSD, we think mostly about the military. Why?
A: Probably because they are more frequently featured in the media and movies.
Women are actually more likely than men to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Men are exposed to more accidents and injuries; they are more likely to be on the front lines or being badaulted with a firearm. But women are more likely to suffer from PTSD after interpersonal trauma. Being attacked by a colleague is not the same as a stranger attacking you. This means that you can not know who you can trust, whereas being attacked by a stranger is usually an isolated act.
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(This interview has been modified for its length and clarity.)
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