Trigger warnings: A quantitative study on the stigmatization of individuals with a mental illness and university students’ help-seeking intentions

Abstract

Requests for trigger warnings before distressing content in the university classroom have increased, especially to accommodate individuals with a history of trauma. However, no empirical evidence has been collected on the stigmatizing nature of trigger warnings. The trigger warning debate has received mainstream media attention and draws dichotomous lines between those who believe in the protective nature of trigger warnings, and those who believe they are coddling to students. The trigger warning literature is limited, however, and focuses mainly on how trigger warnings affect anticipated or experienced anxiety, emotional regulation, and post-traumatic stress. To date, the literature fails to investigate how trigger warnings influence stigma towards those who may benefit from them most, namely, individuals with a mental illness, and whether trigger warnings influence help-seeking intentions. In this study, participants were psychology students recruited from the University of Guelph. Design: 2 x 2 repeated measures split-plot design with two phases: 1) participants filled out an online survey to provide a baseline for phase two, and 2) participants were randomized into either a trigger warning or control condition and subsequently filled out the same online survey. Analysis: 2 x 2 analysis of variance for each dependent variable (stigma, help-seeking intentions). Results: In this sample, trigger warnings did not have an effect on students’ stigmatization toward individuals with a mental illness or their help-seeking intentions. This paper is an abridged version of one that has been uploaded to the Open Science Foundation website and can be found under this project: (osf.io).