Does Trauma Centrality Predict Students’ Requests for Trigger Warnings? Madeline (Mads) Bruce, Faculty Mentor: Sara O’Brien, PhD Neuroscience and Psychology Departments of Knox College

Acknowledgements/Disclosures This study was funded by the Paul K. and Evalyn Elizabeth Richter Memorial Grant.

Online Support Group Beginnings “Trigger Warnings” (TWs) are presented before articles/other media trying to prevent eliciting symptoms of PTSD in people with the disorder. Online Support Group Beginnings “Trigger Warnings” (TWs) are presented before articles/other media trying to prevent eliciting symptoms of PTSD in people with the disorder.

Colleges and Controversy Proposal to have TWs  on syllabi/before lectures met with concern McNally (2014): Avoidance behavior? Centralizing trauma? Avoidance: Maintains PTSD, short term relief with long term consequences Hyperarousal in PTSD feeds into cycle of avoid then never engaging Trauma Centrality (Berntsen & Rubin, 2006) How intertwined the traumatic experience is into self-concept    

Hypotheses TW use would be positively associated with PTSD scores and trauma centrality Trauma centrality will mediate the relationship between PTSD and using TWs Using a TW  will lead to elevated HR, BR, and GSR as compared to a PG-13 warning or no warning

Trigger Warning Use and Request Scale (Bruce, 2017) TWURS New scale validated against PTSD Checklist for DSM 5 (PCL-5)  and questions regarding trigger warning use PCL-5 (p = .001) Questions reflecting behavior (p < .001) 9-item Likert scale with 1 reverse scored item Mturk sample (n = 100) suggested a reliable and valid scale 𝛼 = .91 Principle Axis Factoring Extraction with Promax Rotation: Loaded on 1 factor Scale is measuring engagement with TWs    

Method for Experimental Study Participants N = 63, All Knox College Students, M = 19.5 years of age, 77.8% female BioPac HR, BR, GSR Experimental Design “The next page has the link to the movie clip. Researchers have been asked to give a trigger warning for the clip” PG-13,  control Calculate difference scores for physiological data (mean during the warning) - (mean during baseline)

After the Film Trigger Warning Use and Request Scale (TWURS, Bruce, 2017) Lifetime and Current Trauma Assessment (McHugo et al, 2005) If trauma history confirmed: PCL-5 (Weathers et al, 2013) Centrality of Events Scale (CES, Berntsen & Rubin, 2006)

Knox Student Sample Results (n = 63) Linear regression analyses found: PTSD predicts TW use (p = .003) Trauma centrality predicts TW use (p = .015) Sobel’s test found: Trauma centrality mediates the relationship between PTSD and TW use (p =.02) PTSD TW Use Centrality

Knox Student Sample Results (n = 63) TW condition lead to significantly elevated HR, BR, and GSR compared to PG-13 and control Further analyses to explore PTSD/centrality interaction is forthcoming (n = 120)

Heart Rate Example

Discussion Students with PTSD who see  themselves as traumatized make up some of the population of people who are asking for TWs. McNally’s concerns of potentially maintaining psychopathology cannot be rejected “Trigger warning” leading to physiological markers of anxiety, particularly for those most affected by PTSD and trauma centrality Accommodate PTSD with plans developed by student, clinician, and disability advocate Encourage open discussions about trauma survivors on campus Availability of evidence-based treatment Aim for empowering narratives: may not be “trigger warning” but “content warning” Title IX concerns and examine how we treat survivors of sexual assault