To the potential participant:
Thank you for logging on to the study website. Please carefully read below, about this study, before you decide whether or not to participate.
This study focuses on the experience, beliefs and behavior of college students, including drinking alcohol, sexuality, stress, and thoughts and feelings in a number of every-day situations. The responses given will help contribute to the understanding of what motivates college student behavior, particularly drinking behavior, and how different students are affected by stress.
If you choose to participate, you will complete a variety of questions about drinking frequency, consequences of drinking, feelings of stress and self-consciousness. It should take about 15 to 20 minutes to answer all the questions. You cannot return to partially completed responses if you close the study window, so please set aside enough time to complete the entire survey in one sitting. However, participation is voluntary, and you are able to withdraw from the study at any time, without penalty, by clicking on the “Exit Survey” button in the upper right corner. When you complete the survey, or if you withdraw from the survey at any time, you will be redirected to a final page explaining the study. This final page also includes contact information for the Pace University Counseling Center, and other local resources for support.
Upon completing the study questions, you will be asked if you would like to participate in a raffle for an I-Pod shuffle prize. If you would like to participate in the raffle, please enter your email address. All of your responses are confidential. A code-number will be assigned to your responses and will be kept separate from your email address so that no identifying information can be connected to your responses. Email addresses will be used solely for the purpose of contacting the winner of the raffle, and will be deleted from the investigator’s database afterwards. You DO NOT have to submit your email address to successfully complete the study. You ONLY have to submit your email if you want to participate in the raffle. Therefore, if you choose, you may not submit your email address, in order for your results to remain totally anonymous.
This study involves minimal risk to participants. Some students may experience minor distress or sadness while answering questions about their feelings and behavior, in the same way that they might, when recalling emotional memories. There are no expected benefits to students for participating. You may consult with family members or advisers before you decide whether to participate in this study. If you would like to participate in this study, please click “I am fluent in English, I understand the above information, and I want to participate” below. If you do not want to participate, please click “I do not want to participate.” Please print this page and keep a copy for your personal records, before clicking "Next" to continue with the study. If you are unable to print this page at this time, you may email me at jan.spinardi@gmail.com and I will email a copy of this page to you.
I have attempted to answer potential questions about this study, to the best of my ability, in this consent form. However, if you have any further questions about this study, regarding your rights as a participant, any distress related to your participation, or any concerns about this study, please contact me by e-mail at jan.spinardi@gmail.com, and I will answer all questions to the best of my ability. The Pace University Institutional Review Board has approved the solicitation of subjects for this study. If you have any concerns about your participation, or the ethical nature of the study, you may contact the Pace University Institutional Review Board (IRB) by contacting the Chairperson, Dr. Anastasia Yasik at ayasik@pace.edu or (212) 346-1506. Thank you for your time and consideration.