Emotional and coping responses to serial killings. The Gainesville murders

Forensic experts have focused more on the psychological profile of a serial killer rather than on the pronounced effects on the community at large. Coping with a stressful event is thought to influence emotional states. However, little empirical understanding of this process exists. The present study examined changes in psychological factors 9 days after the occurrence of serial killings in a college community. Multivariate analyses of variance conducted on the variables of stress, anxiety, physical symptoms, and depression revealed a significant difference between the group tested after the murders and a cross-sectional cohort group. Univariate analyses revealed that the study class was significantly more depressed compared with the cohort group. The study class was also significantly more depressed compared with their own responses 1 year before the killings. For both classes, depression was significantly correlated with certain coping styles, including escape-avoidance and accept responsibility. Results have implications for certain coping behaviors (i.e., avoidant behaviors), such as that leaving the community may have been maladaptive and perhaps diverted attention from the more necessary active problem-solving behaviors (e.g., increasing security) in addition to increasing depression.