1. Introduction
Hi!
My name is Susan S. Chuang (Associate Professor, University of Guelph, Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition). I am conducting a study on adolescents' and young adults' unique experiences and the challenges they face as they adjust to high school and university/college. My interests are to examine the lives of various ethnic groups, and those who are native-born and foreign-born. This information should help us to develop a better understanding of the daily challenges that individuals face and how some adolescents adjust to new sociocultural environments. I am also interested in your various types of social relationships with your parents and friends. Involvement in this study is voluntary, so you may choose to participate or not. This letter will explain the study to you and please feel free to ask questions about the research if you have any. I will be happy to explain anything in greater detail if you wish. Involvement in this study is voluntary, you can choose to participate or not, or you can dropout at anytime without penalty and you can skip any questions or sections. There are no negative consequences.
This survey is for participants between the age of 16 to 24 years. If you are under 18, parental consent must be given to fill out this survey. The next page will ask you accordingly.
The questionnaire will take about 30–45 minutes and will be conducted online on Surveymonkey.com. While SurveyMonkey is a secure site, it is in the United States and transfer of data across the border may not be secure and would be subject to the Patriot Act, potentially seized by Homeland Security. Also, if you have found this link through Facebook or online blogging/chatrooms, please note that Facebook administrators can track who accesses the link, thus further reducing participant confidentiality. When on these types of sites, your membership are known to other members. When you log on, you will automatically be given a number and no identification (e.g., name, address) will be required. At the end, if you choose to enter the lottery, I will ask you for your email address so I can contact you if you win. However, this part of the survey will not be linked to your responses from the questionnaire. These are two separate databases.
The benefit of this research is that you will be helping us to understand how adolescents of various cultural and ethnic backgrounds adjust to university/college life. There is a possibility of some negative feelings since some of the measures ask you questions about your psychological state, and your relationships with your parents and friends. You may feel embarrassed or upset by questions about your psychological state (depression, anxiety, loneliness) and about social supports and relationships. Remember that researchers cannot link your identity to your data, so no one can know your responses. If you no longer wish to continue, you have the right to withdraw from the study, without penalty, at any time. Since the study also examines mental health, should you want and/or need services, the Counseling Services are located in the University Centre, Level 3, telephone number 519-824-4120, ext. 53244. If you have some issues or need some services in regards to gambling, you can call the Ontario Problem Gambling helpline at 1-888-230-3505. Those services are confidential and will not be associated with this research project.
If you have any further questions, please contact Sandra Auld, Research Ethics Coordinator, Office of Research, University of Guelph, 437 University Centre, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1 or call 519-824-4120, ext. 56606.
I have had all my questions addressed, and by continuing on to the survey, I agree to participate in the study.
If you have questions or concerns, please to do not hesitate to contact me: Dr. Susan Chuang, Department of Family Relations & Applied Nutrition, Macdonald Institute, 519-824-4120, ext. 58389, schuang@uoguelph.ca