The negative impacts of mass shootings on mental health have been documented within the general trauma literature. Substantial research has also shown the Asian population to be a minority group especially vulnerable to negative psychological outcomes following trauma and stress. Acculturation has been studied extensively as a predictor of psychological outcomes in several minority groups. Furthermore, parental overprotection has also been found to have a negative impact on mental health. The relationship between acculturation and parental overprotection and psychological outcomes following mass shootings in the Asian population, however, has not been studied adequately. The purpose of this study was to examine exposure, acculturation, and parental overprotection as predictors of negative mental health outcomes, and as moderators of the relationship between exposure to trauma and negative outcomes. Results indicate that overprotection predicted higher levels of both posttraumatic stress and anxiety-mood symptoms. Exposure predicted posttraumatic stress but not anxiety-mood symptoms. Acculturation was not found to significantly predict either outcome. Overprotection was found to moderate the relationship between exposure and anxiety-mood symptoms. Implications of these findings are discussed. / Master of Science

This study examines the stressful responses of faculty/staff and students after experiencing the April 16, 2007 school shootings at Virginia Tech. Understanding people's responses to trauma not only assists in more knowledge about what is stressful after a traumatic event but also may facilitate the finessing of tools and strategies for resilience and recovery in the aftermath of trauma. After investigating stressful responses to the April 16, 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech, and in particular those with probable PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder), I found it was not always necessary to meet the "stressor" A criterion of PTSD. This is crucial because the "stressor" criterion A of PTSD is required to receive the diagnosis of PTSD. Although I found subtle stress differences for women compared to men, and faculty/staff compared to students, none of the differences were statistically significant. This research additionally contributes to the literature by detailing a profile of stressors for both faculty/staff and students in the aftermath of the worst college campus shooting in U.S. history to date. Findings suggest future research should examine the "stressor" criterion A of PTSD as well as the full spectrum of stressful responses both in the "immediate" and "delayed" aftermath of trauma(s). / Ph. D.