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Introduction and Consent

Thank you for your interest in this study! Below, you will find the consent form for participating in this study. Please read it carefully and sign where indicated if you agree to continue participating in the study. Only sign if you understand what participating in this study entails and have no questions that need answering prior to completing the next steps of the study. Once you sign, you will be taken to a new page with a series of questions regarding your experiences of behavioral health, social isolation or connection, and how you experience your emotions. Each page will include a button labeled "Leave Study" if you wish to withdraw at any time. These questions should take 15-20 minutes to complete. Please answer honestly and to the best of your ability. Thank you again for your interest in the study!
Consent Form
You are invited to participate in a research study of how specific skills related to emotional intelligence may associate with one's intensity of emotions and the prevalence of various mental-health related disorders.  You were selected as a possible participant due to your enrollment as a student at Augsburg University. Please read this form and ask any questions you may have before agreeing to participate in the study.

This study is being conducted by me, Ryan Fleig (fleigr@augsburg.edu), as part of the degree requirements for obtaining a doctoral degree in clinical psychology at Augsburg University. My advisor is James Theisen, Ph.D. (theisej@augsburg.edu), an Assistant Clinical Professor and Director of Training in the graduate department Clinical Psychology (PsyD.) program .

Procedures:
This study takes place in one phase, which can be completed in approximately one hour. Upon completion of this consent form, you will be shown a brief screening form and a series of self-report inventories. The screener is a demographic questionnaire to ensure you meet the inclusion criteria for the study and assess how you may feel the pandemic and lockdowns influence your results or reported symptoms. The inventories will include questionnaires that assess mental health symptoms, including symptoms of depression, social isolation, and affect intensity. The screener and inventories are expected to take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete.

Upon completion of the initial screener and inventories, you will see a link for the performance-based measure of emotional intelligence. This measure will include a series of tasks for you to complete. The first task involves identifying how a person may be feeling based on their facial expression. The second task asks you to rate the extent to which various images express emotions. The third task asks you to apply logic to interactions between individuals of varying moods. The fourth task asks you to match various emotions to physical sensations. The fifth task asks you to detail your understanding of how emotions may change based on circumstances. The sixth task has you connect emotions to different scenarios. The final task involves rating the effectiveness of emotion regulation strategies in given scenarios and rating the effectiveness of different strategies in achieving a desired outcome. This assessment instrument will take approximately 40 minutes to one hour to complete.

Monetary Compensation
At the end of your participation in the study, you will be entered into a random lottery drawing for one of three $100 Amazon gift cards. Entry into the lottery will be contingent upon completing all portions of the study. The three winners will be randomly drawn to receive the gift card at the end of the study’s data collection period (estimated to be in the Spring semester of 2024). You may choose to not enter into this lottery if you wish by stating, “Prefer not to respond” later in this survey when asked to enter the lottery using your email address.
Risks and Benefits of Being in the Study

While the risk of participating in this study is estimated to be minimal, there is some risk of emotional distress occurring while completing the various tasks included in the study. Participants may feel discomfort in responding to the mental-health-related questionnaires. Some materials ask you to disclose sensitive content or probe feelings of depression, suicidality, stress or bring to mind distressing past experiences. Further, given the computer-based nature of this this study, there is the possibility that you may become bored or frustrated. If either of these feelings becomes too distressing and you wish to discontinue, you will be able to do so at any time without penalty.

There will be a Leave Study button provided on every page of the initial screener and inventories, as well as an exit button on the performance-based measure. If you are distressed at any point during your participation in the study, you can withdraw immediately and without penalty. In the event your participation in this study causes you undue psychological distress, you can seek counseling services through the Augsburg University Center for Wellness and Counseling at 612-330-1707 or through your student portal at https://augsburgcwcportal.pointnclick.com/home.aspx. If payment is required for counseling services, it is the responsibility of the participant or a third-party payer (such as personal health insurance). There are no direct benefits for participating in this study, but your participation in this research will help better understand the relationship between emotions and behavioral health in college students.

Confidentiality
The records and data collected from this study will be kept private unless required by law. Records will be stored securely, and only the researcher and his advisor, Dr. Theisen, will be granted access. The results will be disseminated in a final paper and presented to the faculty in the Clinical Psychology program for competency evaluation as part of this program's degree requirements. In any form of circulation of this paper, I will not include any information that will make it possible to identify you, as all data will be de-identified. To this end, confidentiality is not absolute. Any personal information, such as email addresses, and study data collected during the course of your participation in this research will be encrypted in accordance with Augsburg University policy for rights to confidentiality. If you use your Augsburg University email address, you acknowledge the risk to your confidentiality due to the address including your name.

Contacts and Questions:
The primary researcher conducting this study is Ryan Fleig. You are free to ask any questions you currently have, or may later have, and are encouraged to contact me at fleigr@augsburg.edu. You may also contact my advisor, Dr. Theisen, at theisej@augsburg.edu. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the study and would like to speak with someone other than myself or my advisor, you are encouraged to contact the Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology (PsyD.) program at 7720 22nd Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55454.

If you have questions about your rights as a study participant or want to discuss problems/complaints about the research study, send an email to Ryan Fleig (fleigr@augsburg.edu) or (theisej@augsburg.edu). If requested from the primary researcher, you can be provided with a copy of this form to keep for your records.

Please read the following questions carefully:

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* 1. Do you understand that you are free to withdraw from this study at any time?

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* 2. Do you understand that you may skip any questions or tasks?

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* 3. Do you have any questions about what you are being asked to do?

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* 4. I have read the above information and, in signing my email below, acknowledge my understanding of the information presented to me. By signing my email, I also acknowledge that I have been given the opportunity to ask questions and have received satisfactory answers. By signing my email, I consent to participate in the study.

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