Costs and benefits of being asked about trauma history

Abstract

How do participants feel about trauma history questions in research? We asked 528 undergraduate and community participants to answer three questions about their experience of completing the Brief Betrayal Trauma Survey (BBTS; Goldberg &Freyd, 2004), a self-report trauma measure. The questions tapped (1) participants' experience of whether the trauma history questions were more or less distressing than things encountered in day-to-day life, (2) how important participants believe it is for psychologists to ask about these events, and (3) how good of an idea, according to participants, it is to include such a measure in psychology research. Participants indicated that, on average, questions about trauma are neutral compared to day-to-day experiences. Further, participants reported that research asking about stressful life events is more than "somewhat important," and that including such measures is more than "somewhat good." These results do not support the assumption that trauma history questions are harmful to participants and suggest that participants, on average, appreciate the inclusion of trauma questions in psychological research. © 2004 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.