.jpg)
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
​
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 (SC 1979 | 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
​​
What is the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among adults living in communities that have experienced a mass shooting?
​​
-
Cross-sectional survey of 5991 adults across 6 different communities that had experienced a mass shooting
-
1 in 4 adults met criteria for past-year PTSD
-
1 in 10 for current PTSD
-
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.
​​
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.
