Public Blame and Prevention Preferences Following K-12 School Shootings: Mean World Beliefs and Doomscrolling

Abstract

Abstract This study examines how routine digital media use shapes public blame attribution and prevention preferences following K-12 school shootings. Drawing on Mean World Syndrome (MWS) and research on doomscrolling, the study investigates whether habitual exposure to threatening and sensationalized content is associated with patterns of digital engagement and interpretations of responsibility for school shooting events. Using a nationwide survey of U.S. adults ( N = 540), the study measured MWS, doomscrolling tendencies, political orientation, blame attribution, and engagement behaviors such as seeking information, sharing, and commenting on school violence–related content. Canonical correlation analyses indicate that higher levels of MWS and doomscrolling are associated with greater engagement across multiple digital media behaviors. In contrast, blame attribution is structured primarily by political ideology, with liberal respondents emphasizing gun policy and conservative respondents attributing responsibility to mental health and media influences. These findings suggest that while media-shaped worldviews influence how individuals engage with school shooting information, political ideology plays a dominant role in shaping public interpretations of responsibility and preferred prevention strategies. The study highlights how digital media environments contribute to the formation of public attitudes that influence criminal justice and school safety policy debates.