The term "trauma" was originally used to describe only the most horrific experiences, but its meaning has expanded in both public and academic circles. This has led to concerns about potential risks associated with defining the term trauma more broadly. However, little research has examined whether the breadth of individuals' trauma beliefs affects their distress after exposure to a potentially traumatic event. The purpose of this study was to examine whether preexisting trauma beliefs, measured via the Trauma subscale of the Harm Concept Breadth Scale (McGrath & Haslam, 2020), predicted distress following exposure to a film clip of a fatal car accident, which served as an analogue for a traumatic experience. In a college student sample (N = 439), individuals who endorsed broader trauma beliefs were more likely to report viewing the film clip as a trauma (