Research

"A recent study found a substantial correlation between the degree to which students report engaging in cognitive distortions (especially emotional reasoning) and the degree to which they endorse safetyism beliefs (e.g., “Intentions don’t matter; only the emotional impact of those words on the listener matters.”) Students reporting higher levels of cognitive distortions also reported being more lonely and less resilient. This finding is consistent with our claim that the Great Untruths are harmful to those who embrace them. See Celniker, J., Ringel, M., Nelson, K., & Ditto, P. H. (2021, April 28). Correlates of “Coddling”: Cognitive distortions predict safetyism-inspired beliefs, belief that words can harm, and trigger warning endorsement in college students. "

Trigger Warnings Don't Work

People who are randomly assigned to receive a trigger warning before viewing or reading something potentially upsetting do not then experience less anxiety; in fact, in a few studies they fared worse, compared to those who received no warning. For a summary of these studies please visit https://www.thefire.org/catching-up-with-coddling-part-two-trigger-warnings-screen-time-v-social-media-covid-19-and-the-continuing-decline-of-gen-zs-mental-health/.

Two Carleton College professors surveyed the available studies and came to the same conclusion in The Chronicle of Higher Education. See Amna Khalid and Jeffrey Aaron Snyder, “The Data Is In — Trigger Warnings Don’t Work,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, Sept. 15, 2021, at