What's the Harm in Asking? Participant Reaction to Trauma History Questions Compared with Other Personal Questions

Abstract

Previous empirical research has linked the disclosure of traumatic experiences through writing with increased positive cognitive processing and physiological well-being (Park & Blumberg, 2002) . The benefits of disclosure seem to outweigh the costs in many cases. Other research suggests that not asking about trauma experiences may actually have negative consequences by perpetuating societal stigmas that serve to avoid discussion about trauma (Becker-Blease & Freyd, 2002) . In the present study (N=275) the researchers compared participants' emotional reactions to trauma questions with their reactions to other possibly invasive questions through a self report survey. Participants were also asked about how important they felt each question was to future research. This research addresses the costs/benefits of asking about trauma compared to other possibly invasive questions commonly examined in research.