Finding protective factors against suicide: Part 1
We have chosen to recruit members from the general population who are over 16 and fluent in English into a research study exploring potential protective and risk factors against suicidal thoughts. You do not need to have experienced/currently experience suicidal thoughts to take part. Please take time to read the following information carefully and decide whether you would like to participate.
Who is undertaking this research study?
This study is being completed in partial fulfilment of a PhD at the University of Chester. The primary researcher is Rosina Pendrous, who is supervised by Dr Lee Hulbert-Williams, Dr Kevin Hochard, and in collaboration with Prof Nick Hulbert-Williams.
What will I be asked?
There are three surveys in total across the course of this study. Following completion of the first survey, there will be a chance to complete the same questionnaire 1-month later and again another month later (2 months). Each survey should take you around 20-25 minutes to complete (60 minutes total). You will first be asked to create a unique identifying code, which we will use to match your anonymous responses across the study. You will then be asked to complete several questionnaires about your mood, any suicidal thoughts, and self-harm engagement. At the end of each survey, we will ask you to provide your email address; this is not compulsory if you do not wish to complete the next survey.
Please note that questionnaires used are for this research only. The questionnaire is not designed to provide you with diagnostic information.
Do I have to take part?
Your participation is entirely voluntary; you do not have to take part in all or any of the surveys and you need not say why. Should you wish to withdraw from the research before you have completed any survey, you can withdraw immediately by closing your browser window. If you wish not to answer a certain question you can choose not to answer it and proceed onto the next one. Please note that partially completed questionnaires may be excluded from our analyses.
Once the survey has been completed you will not be able to withdraw as we will not know which answers are yours. However, if you have provided an email address to complete any of the following surveys, and wish to withdraw, you can do so by emailing the primary researcher with the same email you provided up to two weeks after the survey has been completed. After this time, you will be unable to withdraw from the study as your data will be anonymised to maintain confidentiality.
How will I benefit from the study/are there any risks?
You will receive no compensation for taking part, but University of Chester Psychology students will receive 2 credits per each survey completion (6 credits in total). We hope that the results from this study will guide future studies in suicide prevention. Further, while there are no directly harmful effects from taking part, some of the questions may remind you of upsetting feelings. If you are struggling, remember you are free to withdraw and have no obligation to continue. We also recommend you consider making an appointment to see your doctor or GP to discuss these issues. Alternatively, you can seek information and support from the following sources:
United Kingdom:
- Samaritans, https://www.samaritans.org/; Telephone: 116 123
- PAPYRUS: https://papyrus-uk.org/; Tel: 0800 068 4141 (up to age 35; 10–10 weekdays, 2pm–10pm weekends)
USA:
Canada:
Australia:
New Zealand:
If you cannot find your country here, please follow the link below for a list of worldwide sources:
- http://www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html
Confidentiality
All information to be used in this study is strictly confidential. Your responses to the questionnaires will be securely stored in accordance with the GDPR and University Research Policies. Once the analyses are complete, data will be kept on password protected computers for up to ten years after study completion, as required by some psychology journals. If you have provided us with your email address, this will not be passed onto anyone outside of the research team, and will be destroyed 2 months after the final survey is completed.
Ethical approval has been obtained from the University’s School of Psychology Ethics Committee.
What will happen to the results of the study?
We will analyse the findings of the study in a series of linked analyses. The overall findings will help us to better understand how people manage upsetting thoughts and inform future studies. We will write up the findings from this research for publication in scientific journals. Results may also be presented at scientific conferences. All participants will remain anonymous and individual responses will not be singled out. If you would like a summary of the results, please contact Rosina Pendrous (see below); please note that individual feedback cannot be shared as all data is anonymous.
Where can I get further information?
If you would like any further information about this research, please contact a member of the research team:
- Ms Rosina Pendrous; email: r.pendrous@chester.ac.uk
- Dr Lee Hulbert-Williams; email: l.hulbertwilliams@chester.ac.uk
- Dr Kevin Hochard; email: k.hochard@chester.ac.uk
- Prof Nick Hulbert-Williams; email: n.hulbertwilliams@chester.ac.uk
If you wish to make a complaint about any aspect of this research, or how you have been treated as a participant, please address it to:
Professor R. Bramwell, Head of School, School of Psychology, University of Chester, Parkgate Road, Chester, CH1 4BJ.
Please keep a copy of this Information Page (print screen) for your future reference. Thank you for taking part in this research.