Participants Information Sheet
Participants Information Sheet (Version 7. 01.06.2023)
Study Title: Values and Mental Health!
You are being invited to take part in a research project on values, attachment, and their relationship with mental health. Please take time to read the following information carefully. For more information, please contact the lead researcher (Hamdullah Tunç: h.tunc@ed.ac.uk).
What is the purpose of the study?
The main aim of this study is to explore the impact of your values-based life, the similarities between your values and your social environment’s values, and attachment to important people in your life on some mental health constructs; depression, anxiety, and well-being. This research will help us to better understand the role of personal values and the impact of attachment patterns on mental health.
Why have I been invited to take part?
You are invited to participate in this study because you are 16-29 years old, living in the UK, and fluent in English.
Do I have to take part?
No – it is entirely up to you. If you do decide to take part, you are still free to withdraw from the study and stop providing data at any time and without giving a reason. You can withdraw from the study at any time up until two weeks after having completed the last survey. If you wish to withdraw from the study, you will be asked to provide your participant code. Deciding not to take part or withdrawing from the study will not affect your healthcare or legal rights.
What will happen if I decide to take part?
If you do decide to take part, please keep this Information Sheet. You will be asked to complete an Informed Consent Form to show that you understand your rights in relation to the research, and that you are happy to participate.
The study consists of 2 phases. In the first phase, you will be asked to complete an online questionnaire on valued living, value congruence, attachment, depression, anxiety, well-being and provide some demographic information. This part should take around 15 minutes to complete.
You will then be invited to take part in phase 2. The second phase includes short daily measurements of valued living and mental health over 7 consecutive days. The daily measurements should ideally be reported in the evenings at 6 pm. For this, you will be asked to indicate your preferred communication method, and we will send you a reminder message with the survey link for each measurement in Phase 2. If the study schedule does not align with your personal schedule and you would like to be contacted at a different time, you can do so by emailing us at ValuesProject@ed.ac.uk, along with your participant code (which you will be asked to create at the end of the survey) and your preferred contact time.
Each daily survey should only take around 2 minutes to complete.
What are the possible benefits of taking part?
There are no direct benefits, but by sharing your experiences with us, you will be helping our research team and the University to better understand the associations between valued living, value congruence, attachment, and mental health.
Among those who completed all study phases, participants will have a chance to win one of ten £20 gift cards from a supermarket retailer (among the list: Aldi, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco).
What are the risks or disadvantages associated with taking part?
There are no significant risks associated with participation. However, participants may still experience some level of psychological/emotional distress due to reflecting on personal values and some mental health related questions. If this happens, you can withdraw from the study at any time. Contact information of support services is provided at the end of this sheet.
Will my taking part be kept confidential?
All the information we collect during the course of the research will be kept confidential and there are strict laws which safeguard your privacy at every stage.
What are your choices about how your information is used?
- You can stop being part of the study at any time, without giving a reason. You can withdraw from the study at any time up until two weeks after having completed the last survey. If you wish to withdraw from the study, you will be asked to provide your participant code.
- We need to manage your records in specific ways for the research to be reliable. This means that we won’t be able to let you see or change the data we hold about you.
Where can you find out more about how your information is used?
You can find out more about how we use your information at https://www.ed.ac.uk/records-management/privacy-notice-research
- by asking one of the research team – by sending an email to h.tunc@ed.ac.uk
- by sending an email to the University of Edinburgh Data Protection Officer at dpo@ed.ac.uk
The University of Edinburgh is the sponsor for this study based in the United Kingdom. We will be using information from you in order to undertake this study and will act as the data controller for this study. This means that we are responsible for looking after your information and using it properly. The University of Edinburgh will keep your identifiable information for approximately 3 months after the study has finished and your anonymized data for a minimum of 10 years.
What will happen with the results of this study?
The results of this study will primarily be used for educational purposes (as part of the lead researcher’s thesis project) but may also be summarised and published in scientific journals or presented at conferences. You will not be identifiable from any published results. Quotes or key findings will always be made anonymous in any formal outputs unless we have your prior and explicit written permission to attribute them to you by name. With your consent, your anonymised information may also be kept for future research. A summary of the findings from the study will be available to through a link given to participants after completed study participation.
Who is organising and funding the research?
This study has been organised by Hamdullah Tunç (PhD student in Clinical Psychology at the University of Edinburgh) and sponsored by the University of Edinburgh.
Who has reviewed the study?
The study proposal has been reviewed by School of Health in Social Science Ethics Committee at the University of Edinburgh.
Who can I contact?
If you have any further questions about this study, please contact the lead researcher:
Hamdullah Tunc: h.tunc@ed.ac.uk
You can also contact the research supervisors:
Paul Graham Morris: p.g.morris@ed.ac.uk
Melina Nicole Kyranides: Melina.Nicole.Kyranides@ed.ac.uk
Prof Jo Williams: jo.williams@ed.ac.uk
If you would like to discuss this study with someone independent of the study, please contact Dr Doug McConachie, Senior Teaching Fellow in Department of Clinical and Health Psychology: doug.mcconachie@ed.ac.uk
If you wish to make a complaint about the study, please contact:
Professor Matthias Schwannauer, The Head of School of Health in Social Science: headofschool.health@ed.ac.uk or Research Governance Team (cahss.res.ethics@ed.ac.uk).
In your communication, please provide the study title and detail the nature of your complaint.
In case if you feel distressed after completing the study, you can contact your local GP, or you can call NHS 111 if you need help urgently. You can text YM to 85258 to contact Shout for free, 24/7 mental health text support for young people across the UK. You might visit the web-link below for support and advice about mental health:
Thank you for reading this participant information sheet.
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