Students responses to differing trigger warnings: A replication and extension

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to assess students' responses to a potentially triggering passage from literature using differing trigger warnings. PARTICIPANTS AND METHOD: 123 undergraduates read a passage which contained depictions of physical and sexual assault. Students were randomly assigned to differing trigger warning conditions prior to reading the passage that anticipated either neutral, positive, or negative emotional reactions. Measures of PTSD symptoms and distress were taken on Day 1, Day 2, and Day 14. RESULTS: Distress to the triggering passage did not vary as a function of either trauma history or trigger warning type. Those with higher PTSD scores to start did not experience more distress over time. DISCUSSION: The data suggest that instructors can assign challenging passages with the expectation that those with related traumas will not be disproportionately affected. In addition, the type of warning is not likely to impact on student emotional responses.