Information sheet for participants

 
 4% of survey complete.

This study is approved by King’s College London Psychiatry, Nursing and Midwifery Research Ethics Subcommittee, reference: HR-16/17-4721. This project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.
 
Welcome!
We would like to invite you to participate in this research project. You should only participate if you want to; choosing not to take part will not disadvantage you in any way. Before you decide whether you want to take part, it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully. Ask us if there is anything that is unclear or if you would like more information.

What is the purpose of the study and who can take part?
We are looking for adults with a characteristic they feel leads to unfair attitudes or negative treatment from others (including but not limited to: age, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, physical illness/disability, appearance or a mental health problem). We refer to these attitudes and behaviours from other people as stigma, prejudice and discrimination. The aim of the study is to test a newly developed ‘Responding to Stigma, Prejudice and Discrimination’ questionnaire, which will help to improve our understanding of how people cope with stigma, prejudice and discrimination, and how this impacts on self-esteem. We hope that this will help us develop ways of supporting people to maintain their self-esteem in the face of stigma in the future.

What will taking part involve?
The study will involve completing an online survey, which will include questionnaires about the discriminatory experiences you have faced, your reactions and responses to such experiences, and your self-esteem and psychological well-being. Participation should take approximately 20 minutes. After completing the survey you will be asked whether you wish to complete some additional questions a week later. This is optional but if you choose to do so you will receive an email approximately one week later from the researcher inviting you to answer these questions once more. This part of the study will take no more than 10 minutes.

Incentives
All participants completing the survey will be placed in a draw to win one a £100 Amazon voucher. Participants completing the additional questions one week later will also be entered into a second prize draw with the chance of winning an additional £25 Amazon voucher. You will be entered into this draw with 1,500 participants.
What are the possible benefits and risks of taking part?
Benefits
There is no direct benefit to you taking part in this study, however the results from the study will help us to gain a better understanding of the ways in which people respond to stigma, including the strategies people find most helpful and unhelpful. This information could be used to inform the development of future interventions to help people cope better with stigma, therefore your participation could potentially benefit others who have gone through similar experiences.

Risks
Some questions are of a sensitive nature, which some people find may find upsetting to complete, for example having to think about times when you have been treated differently to other people. If you are not happy answering any of the questions you will be able to withdraw from the study at any point.

Do I have to take part?
Participation is voluntary and it is up to you to decide whether to take part or not. If you decide to take part and subsequently change your mind you will be free to withdraw your data from the study until the point at which the data is analysed in January 2018. After this it will not be possible to withdraw your data. Data from partially completed surveys may be used in the analysis. Deciding not to take part or withdrawing from the study will not disadvantage you in any way.

Will my taking part be confidential?
We will require your email address to get in touch if you are a winner of the prize draws and to contact you if you wish to complete the additional questions one week later. Your email address will be kept separately to your questionnaire data and deleted as soon as the data has been collected and prize winners are informed. All data will be stored electronically on a password protected computer and only the research team will have access to the data, which will be treated in the strictest confidence.

What will happen to the results of the study?
The findings from this study will be written up as part of a PhD thesis and disseminated through peer reviewed articles in scientific journals as well as at research conferences. In these cases the data will contain no identifying information that could associate you with it.

Who should I contact for further information?
If you have any questions or require more information about the study, please contact me using the following contact details: lauren.armstrong@kcl.ac.uk
What if I have further questions, or if something goes wrong?
If this study has harmed you in any way or if you wish to make a complaint about the conduct of the study you can contact King's College London using the details below for further advice and information: Dr Katharine Rimes, katharine.rimes@kcl.ac.uk

If participation in this study has raised issues for you about distress relating to experiences of discrimination or other issues, here are some ways in which you could consider getting support:

Talking to your family or friends, talking to your GP, or contacting:

Samaritans:
116 123 / samaritans.org (available daily, 24 hours a day, UK)
Accessing counselling or therapy through the NHS:
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/Pages/free-therapy-or-counselling.aspx
Self-help well-being and relaxation exercises:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~healthed/relax/downloads.html#muscle
Self-help resources:
http://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/

Thank you for reading this information sheet and for considering taking part in this research

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