PAIR Study Preliminary Screen

Study Information Page

CONSENT FORM

The Promoting Awareness & Improving Relationships Study

Principal Investigator: Ronald D. Rogge

Co-Investigator: Dev Crasta

This consent form describes a research study, what you may expect if you decide to take part and important information to help you make your decision. Please read this form carefully.

The study staff will explain this study to you over the phone. Please ask questions about anything that is not clear before you agree to participate or at any time. You may print this form out to think about and discuss with family or friends.

Being in this study is voluntary - It is your choice.
If you join this study, you can change your mind and stop at any time.
There are risks from participating and you should understand what these mean to you.

INTRODUCTION

If you and your partner are:

Both at least 18 years old
In a romantic relationship and living together
Raising at least one child who is below 18 years of age and is living at home with you at least 4 days of the week
Both willing to participate

... we would like to invite you to take part in this study.

This study is being conducted by Dr. Ronald Rogge of the University of Rochester’s Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology.

Purpose of Study
The purpose of this study is to examine the role that reflecting on one’s own relationship with films can have on romantic relationships. Toward that end, you and your partner will be asked to watch movies together and then have 30-45min discussions about how the relationship on the screen compares to your own.

Description of Study Procedures
If you decide to take part in this study, you and your partner will: 1) complete brief (35-40min) initial check-in questionnaires assessing individual, family, and child functioning; 2) be invited to complete follow-up check-ins at 1, 2, and 8-months months after the initial check-in; 3) be encouraged to watch 5 films from a recommended list, 4) be asked to have 30-45min discussions after each movie reflecting on the on-screen relationship and how it is similar to or different from your own.

Preliminary Screen & Contact Information: If you choose to participate in the study, you will be start by completing this brief (2-4 minutes) form asking for some simple demographic information to help us determine your eligibility. You will also be asked to provide contact information (phone numbers and e-mail addresses for both you and your partner, preferred times to be contacted so that study staff can contact you to further assess eligibility and review this consent over the phone. In addition, you will be asked to provide a legal street address for tax purposes as well as to access publically available data on your neighborhood (like census data and counts of nearby businesses) You and your partner should expect calls within the next 1-4 days, and these calls will generally take no more than 5 minutes.

Initial Check-In: If you are eligible for the study, you and your partner will then receive separate e-mail invitations to the initial check-in survey. This is expected to take 35-40 minutes. Although both you and your partner will be completing check-in surveys, we will not share your answers with your partner (or vice versa) to help protect the confidentiality of your data. Couples will receive $20 in compensation after both partners have completed this survey. NOTE – Both you and your partner must complete the initial check-in to be part of the study.

1-Month, 2-Month, and 8-month Check-Ins: 1, 2, and 8 months after you have completed your initial survey, we will e-mail you links to follow-up surveys which should also take about 35-40 minutes to complete. Each of these surveys will provide individualized feedback helping you to track change in your relationship over time. As with the Initial Check-In, couples will receive $20 in compensation after both partners complete each Check-In.

Movie-Based Discussions: You will be sent a series of emails with links to a pre-screened list of films. We will ask that you and your partner pick out 5 movies over the following few weeks and watch them together. After each movie, we will ask that you then spend 30-45 minutes discussing the ways in which your relationship is similar to and different from the relationships portrayed in the movie. You will either receive these invitations in the weeks between your initial and 1-month check in OR in the weeks between your 1-Month and 2-Month check-in. You and your partner will receive $10 in compensation for having and documenting 3 movie/show-based discussions in our online forms.

Number of Subjects
Approximately 200 parenting couples (400 individuals) will take part in this study

Duration of the Study
Your participation in the study will begin with the Preliminary Screen and will continue until your final 8-Month Followup Check-in. Thus, each family will typically complete the study within 8.5 months. You are free to withdraw at any time by contacting study staff.

Risks of Participation
There is a chance that you might find some of the survey questions uncomfortable. However, you can skip any of the questions you do not want to answer. In addition, you might find that discussing your relationship could get uncomfortable at certain points. Once again, you are free to discontinue the discussions, skip any uncomfortable discussion questions, and/or discontinue your participation in the study at any point. Finally, as you will be providing personal information (email, phone number, street address) for the initial Preliminary Screen, there is a risk of a loss of privacy. To minimize that risk, your questionnaire data and your contact information will be stored separately on password protected computers and will only be linked by random subject ID numbers to protect your privacy during the course of the study. To further minimize that risk, we will delete all contact information you provided after the study has been completed. Access to all data will be strictly restricted to project staff.

Benefits of Participation
There are no direct benefits to participating in this study. However, couples might find it rewarding and helpful to discuss their relationship, as it can heighten their awareness of themselves, their relationship, and their parenting partnership. In addition, we hope that using movies to anchor these questions will also provide a mutually enjoyable experience.

Costs
There will be no cost to you to participate in this study.

Payments
You and your partner have the ability to receive a combined amount of $90 for completing all aspects of the study. Specifically, you and your partner will receive $20 as a couple for each of the check-in assessments that you both complete (provided you answer at least 90% of the survey questions and give good attention and effort). You and your partner will also receive $10 for jointly completing at least 3 discussion forms over the treatment period.

Confidentiality of Records
The University of Rochester makes every effort to keep the information collected from you private. Your questionnaire data will be stored separately from your contact information on password protected computers and will only be linked by random subject ID numbers to further protect your privacy. We will we will delete your contact information immediately after we have completed data collection. Access to all data will be strictly restricted to project staff. Sometimes, however, researchers need to share information that may identify you with people that work for the University, regulators or the study sponsor. If this does happen we will take precautions to protect the information you have provided. Results of the research may be presented at meetings or in publications, but your name will not be used.

Contact Persons
For more information concerning this research or if you feel that your participation has resulted in any emotional or physical discomfort please contact: Dev Crasta at (516) 817-8366 or dev.crasta@rochester.edu or Dr. Ron Rogge at (585)-317-1848 or rogge@psych.rochester.edu .

Please contact the University of Rochester Research Subjects Review Board at 265 Crittenden Blvd., CU 420315, Rochester, NY 14642, Telephone (585) 276-0005 or (877) 449-4441 for the following reasons:

You wish to talk to someone other than the research staff about your rights as a research subject;
To voice concerns about the research;
To provide input concerning the research process;
In the event the study staff could not be reached.

Voluntary Participation
Taking part in this study is voluntary. You are free not to take part or to withdraw at any time, for whatever reason. No matter what decision you make, there will be no penalty or loss of benefit to which you are entitled. In the event that you do withdraw from this study, the information you have already provided will be kept in a confidential manner.

Summary
After reading and discussing the information in this consent form you should understand:

Why this study is being done;
What will happen during the study;
Any possible risks and benefits to you;
Other options you may have instead of being in the study;
How your personal information will be protected;
What to do if you have problems or questions about this study.

Subject Consent
By clicking YES, I am indicating that I have read the contents of this consent form and understand that I will have a chance to answer any questions by speaking to the study staff over the phone. Thus, I agree to participate in this study. *This question is required.