‘We Remember Them’: A Mixed Methods Study of Posttraumatic Growth, Collective Efficacy, and Agency among Survivors of Mass Violence in Isla Vista, California

ABSTRACT

Mass violence in the United States has been shown to cause trauma for survivors. These events may also create for survivors the experience of posttraumatic growth (PTG), the facets of which include personal strength, appreciation for life, new possibilities in life, spiritual change, and enhanced relationships with others. However, the role of collective efficacy and agency in the development of PTG following mass violence remains unknown. The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between PTG and experiences of collective efficacy and agency among survivors of the Isla Vista, California tragedy of 2014. The mixed methods objective was to explore the interpretive context within which the agency and collective efficacy experiences occurred. Quantitative data collected in a questionnaire (n = 166) were used to inform the collection of qualitative interview data (n = 12). Participating in therapy, organizing community events, and making the decision to either leave or stay in Isla Vista positively correlated with PTG based on hierarchical regression analysis. Themes of personal agency, the importance of role, and participating in collective action emerged from interviews. This study offers unique methodological approaches to using mixed methods data to understand the experiences which contributed to PTG among survivors of a mass shooting.

KEYWORDS:

• Mass shooting
• mixed methods
• posttraumatic growth
• agency
• collective efficacy
• mass violence

Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge our lead community partners and Isla Vista leadership for their input and collaboration in implementing the study. Thank you to the following for expert support on study design, coordination, and implementation: Dr. Lorraine Gutierrez, Dr. Andrew Grogan-Kaylor, Ms. Jasdeep Dulay, Mr. Jonathan VanTreeck, Ms. Elise Trim, Ms. Erica Parkinson, Mr. Jonathan Abboud, and Ms. Katya Armistead.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the author. The data are not publicly available due to their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the University of Michigan School of Graduate Studies in the United States in 2017.

Notes on contributors

Monte-Angel Richardson

Monte-Angel Richardson is a doctoral student at the University of Toronto Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work. Her research interests are violence prevention within communities, immigrants and refugees, trauma informed practice, and transformative justice models. Combining social work and public health at local, state, national, and international levels, Monte-Angel focuses on the prevention of gun violence and interruption of the processes that permeate trauma within marginalized populations and communities. Monte-Angel’s research in the U.S., Canada, and Japan is diverse methodologically, spanning from participatory action research to surveys with complex sampling design, from building machine learning models to intervention research, including the use of machine learning to analyze trends in gun violence, a study of survivors of a mass shooting in California, and multi method qualitative studies of residents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She is a member of the collaborative specialization in social work and public health policy. In addition to her involvement with the National Center for Women & Information Technology in the United States (NCWIT), Monte-Angel is published in the Health & Social Work journal and has written a book chapter regarding trauma informed practices at university libraries.