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Caitlin Rancher, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Medical University of South Carolina
rancher@musc.edu | 843-608-0491
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About Me
I received my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Southern Methodist University in 2021. I completed my pre-doctoral Clinical Psychology Internship at the APA-accredited Charleston Consortium and T32 postdoctoral training in traumatic stress at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). I completed my K99 postdoctoral fellowship at the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center at MUSC. I am a licensed Clinical Psychologist (NM PSY1730) and an Assistant Professor in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Department at MUSC.
My research examines the consequences of children's exposure to violence and tests parenting-based interventions for victims of violence and their families.
Research Highlight
Moreland, A. D., Rancher, C., Davies, F., Bottomley, J., Galea, S., Abba-Aji, M., Abdalla, S. M., Schmidt, M. G., Vena, J. E., Kilpatrick, D. G. (2024). Posttraumatic stress disorder among adults from six communities with mass violence incidents. JAMA Network Open, 7(7), e2423539. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.202423539
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What is the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among adults living in communities that have experienced a mass shooting?
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Cross-sectional survey of 5991 adults across 6 different communities that had experienced a mass shooting
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1 in 4 adults met criteria for past-year PTSD
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1 in 10 for current PTSD
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Being female, having a history of physical or sexual assault, and having a history of other potentially traumatic events were associated with the greatest risk of PTSD.
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These findings suggest that the outcomes of MVIs in communities extend beyond direct survivors, including persistent PTSD in many adults, and are exacerbated by exposure to prior traumatic events; thus, screening efforts for mental health services after MVIs should not focus exclusively on those directly exposed to MVIs.
