"Do antidepressants contribute to school shootings? Even under harsh criticism, the US Department of Health and Human Services thinks so, and the current administration has included a directive to "assess the prevalence of and threat posed by the prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, stimulants, and weight loss drugs." Following the recent Minnesota school shooting, plans were announced for an NIH study to evaluate the contribution of SSRIs to violence, including mass shootings."
"For example, among patients with post- traumatic stress disorder with established aggressive tendencies, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies have demonstrated that fluoxetine (Prozac)-an SSRI introduced decades ago- reduces impulsive aggressive behaviors. Similarly, a 2020 study of 785,337 individuals in a Swedish registry showed that a small percentage of high-risk individuals may incur a greater risk of violent ideation when treated with SSRIs; however, the overwhelming majority of SSRI users (97 percent in the study cohort) did not commit violent offenses."
HHS has directed assessment of prescriptions including SSRIs and an NIH study was announced to evaluate SSRI contributions to violence. Controlled trials show fluoxetine reduces impulsive aggression in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder and aggressive tendencies. A 2020 Swedish registry found a small subset of high-risk individuals may have increased violent ideation on SSRIs, while 97 percent did not commit violent offenses. A 2025 Danish study of people with personality disorders found no consistent association between antidepressant treatment and police-recorded violent charges and observed lower suicide risk during treatment. Less than a quarter of mass shooters had prior SSRI use; violence arises from complex social and individual factors, and linking antidepressants to mass shootings risks stigmatizing people with mental illness.
Read at Psychology Today
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