Participants Consent Form
University of St. Thomas – Institutional Review Board
Informed Consent to Participate in Research
You are being asked to participate in the research project described below. Your participation in this study is voluntary; you may refuse to participate, or you may decide to stop your participation at any time.
Should you refuse to participate or withdraw your consent and stop participating in the study, your decision will involve no penalty or loss of benefits to which you may be entitled otherwise.
Please read the information below carefully and ask questions about anything you do not understand before deciding whether to participate.
STUDY TITLE: Validation of Self-Esteem Scales Among College Students and its Relation to Gender
RESEARCHER(S): Yadira Castillo, Sarah Hodgdon, Andrea Ibarra Salazar
FACULTY ADVISOR: Dr. Crystal Duc Tran
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The purpose of this study is to design and validate a scale that measures self-esteem in college students and to examine whether self-esteem differs between female and male students.
ESTIMATED NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 150
PROCEDURES FOR PARTICIPANTS: Participants will be completing an online questionnaire with 36 items conducted via Survey Monkey upon consent for participation. No identifying information will be requested.
EXPECTED DURATION OF PARTICIPATION: The participants should take 15-30 minutes to complete the questionnaire.
RISKS OF PARTICIPATION AND SAFEGUARDS: There are minimal/potential anticipated risks associated with participation in this project. For UST students who experience any distress due to participation, the University of St. Thomas Counseling Services office can be reached at (713) 525-2169 or cds@stthom.edu. The Center is open Monday through Friday; current hours of operation are listed on their website: https://www.stthom.edu/Campus-Student-Life/Counseling-Services. UST students are offered free counseling in their office, located on the second floor of Crooker. Furthermore, all participants are encouraged to contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Line and SAMHSA’s National Helpline (1-800-662-HELP).
POSSIBLE BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATION: There will be no other direct benefits to participants. Other benefits of the research are expanding knowledge in current research and understanding on self-esteem and gender differences.
COMPENSATION: By completing the survey, psychology students at UST could receive extra credit (0.5 credit hours) to be applied to a psychology course of their choosing for their participation, otherwise no other form of compensation is given.
PARTICIPANT PRIVACY: The researchers will not collect personal identifiers during participation.
ACCESS TO RECORDS: The following people will have access to study records that do not include your name or other identifying information: Yadira Castillo, Andrea Ibarra Salazar, Sarah Hodgdon (researchers), Dr. Crystal Duc Tran (faculty sponsor).
CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS: Every effort will be made to keep your study records confidential. The data collected from the study may be used for educational and publication purposes, but you will not be identified by name. Raw data will be stored in a password protected departmental Survey Monkey account and on researcher’s UST One Drive for which only the researchers and our faculty sponsor will have access to. The researcher will securely maintain study records for a minimum of three years, after which the records will be destroyed.
INVESTIGATOR’S RIGHT TO WITHDRAW PARTICIPANT: The researcher has the right to withdraw you from this study at any time.
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR QUESTIONS OR PROBLEMS: The researchers have offered to answer all your questions. If you have additional questions during the course of this study about the research or any related problem, you may contact the researchers or faculty sponsor, Yadira Castillo, at (832)540-3919 or castillo.yadira@stthom.edu . Andrea Ibarra Salazar, at (832)530-3049 or ibarraa2@stthom.edu, Sarah Hodgdon, at (719)243-3673 or hodgdos@stthom.edu. The faculty advisor, Dr. Crystal Tran, may be contacted at (713) 525-3197 or trandn1@stthom.edu.
THIS RESEARCH STUDY HAS BEEN REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY THE INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS.
For additional information concerning your rights as a human subject, please contact Dr. John Palasota, Interim Vice-President of Academic Affairs, 713-525-2164.
STUDY CRITERIA AND AGREEMENT TO PARTICIPATE: To participate in this study, you must be:
- At least 18 years old
- a UST student
If you meet these criteria and agree to participate, continue to the survey. By responding to the survey, you are providing your consent for your responses to be used in the research.