You are being asked to participate in a research study. Your participation in this research study is voluntary and you do not have to participate. Even if you decide to participate now, you may change your mind and stop at any time. This document contains important information about this study and what to expect if you decide to participate. Please consider the information carefully. Feel free to ask questions before making your decision whether or not to participate.

Study Purpose:
You are being invited to participate in this research study because you are 18 years of age or older and identify as nonbinary or an identity outside of the binary. If you participate in this research study, you will be invited to answer questions on an online survey about your personal experience with community connection, mental health, and social distancing behaviors during COVID-19. Survey questions include multiple choice and open-ended questions pertaining to your experiences of social connection as a resilience factor and navigating COVID-19.

You may choose not to respond to any question or continue with the survey for any reason without penalty. Participation in this study is entirely voluntary.

Potential risks and/or discomforts of participation may include discussion about topics that may be uncomfortable or triggering, such as describing potentially difficult or traumatic moments in your experiences.

You may or may not benefit directly from participating in this study.

The information found through this study may potentially be used to improve the current field of research in understanding the experiences of nonbinary and gender diverse individuals during difficult times and periods of isolation. This study may also be beneficial in understanding and improving mental health outcomes and factors of resiliency among nonbinary individuals.

Each participant will be entered into a raffle to win one of two $50 Visa gift cards.

Procedures: If you agree to be a part of the research study, you will be asked to complete an online survey with questions pertaining to your personal experiences of community connection, resiliency, and social distancing behaviors during COVID-19. The online survey will be completed using SurveyMonkey or similar tool. The survey is projected to take 5-10 minutes.

This research is only for U.S. residents over the age of 18. Please be mindful to respond in a private setting and through a secured Internet connection for your privacy. Your confidentiality will be maintained to the degree permitted by the technology used. Specifically, no guarantees can be made regarding the interception of data sent via the Internet by any third parties.

No identifying information will be collected in this survey and you will not be connected in any way to the responses in this study. The results of this study may potentially be published in a peer-reviewed journal and/or a presentation or professional conference in the future.

Data Sharing
De-identified aggregate data from this study may be shared with the research community at large to advance science and health and may be included in future research studies. We will remove or code any personal information that could identify you before files are shared with other researchers to ensure that, by current scientific standards and known methods, no one will be able to identify you from the information we share. Despite these measures, we cannot guarantee anonymity of your personal data.

Questions: If you have any questions about this project or your participation, please feel free to ask questions now or contact Riley Hostetter at riley.hostetter@du.edu, Ash Philliber at aphilliber@philliberresearch.com or Donny Gerke at Donny.Gerke@du.edu at any time.

If you have any questions or concerns about your research participation or rights as a participant, you may contact the University of Denver’s Human Research Protections Program (HRPP) by emailing IRBAdmin@du.edu or calling (303) 871-2121 to speak to someone other than the researchers.

The University of Denver Institutional Review Board has determined that this study is minimal risk and is exempt from full IRB oversight.

If you are feeling in need of crisis support at any point during, or after, this study, please contact any of the following entities, or your local mental health resources:

• The Trevor Project's 24/7/365 Lifeline at 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386) or TrevorChat, their online instant messaging option, or TrevorText, a text-based support option.
• The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255)
• Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860
• SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357)

Please take all the time you need to read through this document and decide whether you would like to participate in this research study.
If you decide to participate, your completion of the research procedures indicates your consent. Please keep this form for your records.

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