Should Trigger warnings be used?

[VoidCat]

Ive used them often but never thought to look to see if they are useful for helping those with PTSD and anxiety which is why I include them. So that people could avoid them if needed. But I never thought to look to see if they are actually helpful. Until today. Two studies say they aren't.
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Abstract
Trigger warnings alert trauma survivors about potentially disturbing forthcoming content. However, empirical studies on trigger warnings suggest that they are functionally inert or cause small adverse side effects. We conducted a preregistered replication and extension of a previous experiment. Trauma survivors (N = 451) were randomly assigned to either receive or not to receive trigger warnings before reading passages from world literature. We found no evidence that trigger warnings were helpful for trauma survivors, for participants who self-reported a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis, or for participants who qualified for probable PTSD, even when survivors’ trauma matched the passages’ content. We found substantial evidence that trigger warnings countertherapeutically reinforce survivors’ view of their trauma as central to their identity. Regarding replication hypotheses, the evidence was either ambiguous or substantially favored the hypothesis that trigger warnings have no effect. In summary, we found that trigger warnings are not helpful for trauma survivors.

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Abstract
Students are requesting and professors issuing trigger warnings—content warnings cautioning that college course material may cause distress. Trigger warnings are meant to alleviate distress students may otherwise experience, but multiple lines of research suggest trigger warnings could either increase or decrease symptoms of distress. We examined how these theories translate to this applied situation. Across six experiments, we gave some college students and Internet users a trigger warning but not others, exposed everyone to one of a variety of negative materials, then measured symptoms of distress. To better estimate trigger warnings’ effects, we conducted mini meta-analyses on our data, revealing trigger warnings had trivial effects—people reported similar levels of negative affect, intrusions, and avoidance regardless of whether they had received a trigger warning. Moreover, these patterns were similar among people with a history of trauma. These results suggest a trigger warning is neither meaningfully helpful nor harmful.

This study says that graphic images could make people more vulnerable to trauma tho:

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Indeed, exposure to television coverage related to the September 11 terrorist attacks (9/11) shortly after they occurred was associated with high risk for probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)...

Exposures to collective traumas are more complex than currently conceptualized. Early media-based exposure is important in terms of persistent symptoms, and it is not just how much one engages the media—what one sees may matter as well. Research addressing the nuances of media impact on stress-related symptoms in the public is relatively new. This study is a first step in a program of research that seeks to tease apart the qualities of media exposure that may render individuals more vulnerable to trauma-related mental and physical health problems over time.

Since the two articles earlier tested for whether trigger warnings helped prepared people and not whether it helps people avoid content I wonder if it might actually be helpful but only as a way to avoid distressing content and not as a way to help people prepare for it?

And this article from the APA does suggest trigger warning may be useful: APA PsycNet

According to the popular press, students have been increasingly demanding warnings before being exposed to potentially distressing classroom material. The validity of these types of trigger warnings has been a topic of vigorous debate. Based on a review of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) research and closely related topics, this article answers questions that teachers might ask about the validity of the scientific assumptions behind trigger warnings and their use in the classroom. External stimuli causing distress is a feature common to many mental disorders, and trauma-based triggers of distress are an essential feature of PTSD. However, development of PTSD after a traumatic experience is relatively rare. Environmental triggers are often difficult to predict, but warnings may reduce distress among people with PTSD by allowing exposure to be controlled. To the extent that trigger warnings allow avoidance of hyperarousal when trying to learn, they should increase students’ classroom performance. However, avoidance of trauma reminders contributes to the persistence of PTSD symptoms. Although clinical research generally supports the notion of trigger warnings as an accommodation for individual students diagnosed with PTSD, the effectiveness of trigger warnings in the classroom is unknown. In addition, trigger warnings may be a legitimate accommodation for students with psychiatric disabilities, but this does not mean that they are relevant to nonclinical issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)

What are y'all thoughts?

 

[Heyo]

Ive used them often but never thought to look to see if they are useful for helping those with PTSD and anxiety which is why I include them. So that people could avoid them if needed. But I never thought to look to see if they are actually helpful. Until today. Two studies say they aren't.
SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class research journals

SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class research journals


This study says that graphic images could make people more vulnerable to trauma tho:

SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class research journals


Since the two articles earlier tested for whether trigger warnings helped prepared people and not whether it helps people avoid content I wonder if it might actually be helpful but only as a way to avoid distressing content and not as a way to help people prepare for it?

And this article from the APA does suggest trigger warning may be useful: APA PsycNet


What are y'all thoughts?

I think they make good click bait.

 

[VoidCat]

I think they make good click bait.

I wasn't trying to do click bait?

 

[Heyo]

I wasn't trying to do click bait?

No, but "TRIGGER WARNING" is an advertisement for "exciting" content to those who want to get triggered. I don't know if that is the audience you would like to attract.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Ive used them often but never thought to look to see if they are useful for helping those with PTSD and anxiety which is why I include them. So that people could avoid them if needed. But I never thought to look to see if they are actually helpful. Until today. Two studies say they aren't.
SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class research journals

SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class research journals


This study says that graphic images could make people more vulnerable to trauma tho:

SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class research journals


Since the two articles earlier tested for whether trigger warnings helped prepared people and not whether it helps people avoid content I wonder if it might actually be helpful but only as a way to avoid distressing content and not as a way to help people prepare for it?

And this article from the APA does suggest trigger warning may be useful: APA PsycNet


What are y'all thoughts?

Ooof...
Interesting topic and links, but this might be above my paygrade. My 'credentials' amount to being a psych-major at Uni, and that was enough education to let me know that where there is this type of noise, it's probably most accurately depicted as 'we really aren't sure yet'...something which covers a LOT of ground in psych, I would suggest.

It is interesting to me that exposure to trigger warnings might reinforce certain negative identification traits. Anecdotally that makes sense to me. And equally there is some mention there that the nature of the content is important, with things like graphic images being potentially more impactful than descriptions. Again, anecdotally that makes sense.

Off the cuff, it feels to me like an overuse of trigger warnings isn't helpful, and some of the people who demand them don't actually have a clinical reason to need them (and it's based more on personal identity, likes and dislikes). However, there still seems a case for using them to protect people who actually do have a clinical diagnosis from images (in particular) which will cause acute issues.

But mostly, seems the jury is still out.

 

[Sirona]

I'm not a native English speaker, but so far I have heard the term trigger warning only in context of fanfiction. So if one has a tendency for, let's say, self-harm, that they can "avoid" a story including such content.

 

[VoidCat]

I'm not a native English speaker, but so far I have heard the term trigger warning only in context of fanfiction. So if one has a tendency for, let's say, self-harm, that they can "avoid" a story including such content.

They are warnings about distressing content. Can be used either to prepare the person reading so they have a heads up about content that could distress them or so the person can avoid the topic all together.