Inoculating Against Disillusionment: Protecting Student Confidence in Universities Before a Campus Shooting Crisis

Although fatal shootings on U.S. college campuses are statistically rare, students are routinely confronted with information suggesting that shootings are rampant and unavoidable. Pre-crisis interventions should address the threat of deceptive claims and restore beliefs that universities are capable of protecting students from violence. This experiment investigated the effectiveness of inoculation-based messages as a complementary approach to pre-crisis strategies for student resilience. Results revealed that, after reading about a simulated shooting, inoculated students had greater certainty and more positive beliefs in a university’s ability to prevent and respond to a shooting. Findings suggest that inoculation can establish a buffer of confidence in an institution’s crisis management infrastructure, even when faced with a shocking tragedy. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.