Help psychologists develop new tools to better understand childhood sexual abuse. Your voice can help improve care and support for future survivors.
Participate in a confidential study, share your experience, and receive a $15 Amazon gift card. Development of the Childhood Sexual Abuse Severity Scale: A Pilot Study
Who is doing this research study? College: College of Psychology, Nova Southeastern University
Principal Investigator: Amy E. Ellis, PhD
Co-Investigator(s): Ryan A Black, PhD
Site Informati
on: College of Psychology, Nova Southeastern University; Maltz Psychology Building, 3151 College Avenue Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314
Funding: This study is funded by the NSU President’s Research Grant. The first part of this consent form gives you a summary of this study. We will give you more details about the study later in this form. The study team will also explain the study to you and answer any questions you have. Research studies include only people who choose to take part. It is your choice whether or not you want to take part in this study. Please take your time to decide about participating. You can discuss your decision with your family, friends and other trusted people. What is this study about? This is a research study, designed to test and create new ideas that other people can use. The purpose of this research study is to develop a tool for understanding and measuring the severity of sexual abuse experienced. Why are you asking me to be in this research study? You are being asked to be in this research study because you have endorsed experiencing sexual abuse in childhood or an unwanted sexual experience(s) in childhood (before the age of 18). With your answers, we may be able to develop a tool for better understanding how sexual abuse affects individuals’ mental health. This study will include about 500 people. What will I be doing if I agree to be in this research study? While you are taking part in this research study, you will be asked to complete several questionnaires online. It is expected that this will take 1 hour. You will be asked to provide information regarding your past experiences related to your childhood, as well as some mental health symptoms you may or may not experience at this time. You will be in this study for the duration of time it takes you to complete the assessments. What happens if I choose to be in this study? We will ask you first to complete a screening questionnaire to determine whether you meet criteria/are eligible to participate in this study. To participate in this study, you must: be 18 years or older, have fluency in English, be located in the United States, and have at least one unwanted experience or sexual trauma before the age of 18 years old. If you are eligible, you will proceed to the questionnaires about demographic information (i.e., your age, gender, race, ethnicity), unwanted sexual experiences in childhood, your family-of-origin, and symptoms of depression and trauma. As we are offering payment, once you have completed and submitted your questionnaires, you will be taken to another screen where you can provide your email address in order to receive a gift card. Gift cards will only be sent after verifying that you completed the questionnaires and passed the fidelity checks. You can expect to receive your gift card within one week, once we have verified that your information is valid. Are there possible risks and discomforts to me? This research study involves minimal risks. To the best of our knowledge, the things you will be doing have no more risk of harm than you would have in everyday life. You may find some of the questions we ask you (or some things we ask you to do) to be upsetting or stressful. If so, we can refer you to hotlines or a therapist directory which may be able to help you with any distress or feelings you may experience. What happens if I do not want to be in this research study? You can leave this research study at any time, and/or refuse to participate in this research study. There will be no penalty or loss of services to you. Any information about you that was collected before the date you leave the study will be kept in the research records for 36 months from the end of the study. This data may be used as part of the research. What if there is new information learned during the study that may affect my decision to remain in the study? Any information that may impact your decision to remain in this study will be given to you by the investigator(s). You may be asked to sign a new Informed Consent if additional information is given to you after you have joined the study. Are there any benefits for taking part in this research study? There are no direct benefits from being in this research study. We hope the information learned from this study will help advance our treatment of individuals with past or unwanted sexual experiences from childhood or trauma histories. Will I be paid or otherwise compensated for being in this study? You will receive a $15 Amazon gift card for participating in the study. Gift cards will be emailed within approximately one week of receiving your completed survey, once we have verified that your information is valid. To ensure that the survey is completed, there will be fidelity checks; that is, there may be some questions that ask you to select a particular response to ensure that you are reading the questions thoroughly. Additionally, we may check to see if the survey is completed in too short, or too long, of a period that would be outside expectation. If you complete the survey in less than 30 minutes, or more than 3 hours, you will not receive compensation. If your responses do not meet the fidelity checks, you will not receive a gift card. Will it cost me anything? There are no costs to you for being in this research study. How will you keep my information private? Participation in research involves some loss of privacy. We will do our best to make sure that information about you is kept confidential, but we cannot guarantee total privacy. We will not ask you to submit your name as it is connected to your data. We will, however, be gathering other sensitive information, including your city and state location, and email address. This information will only be used to email you a gift card, and will not be distributed or shared elsewhere. Only people who need to review your information will have access to study files. Organizations or people that may review and copy your information include: Amy Ellis, PhD (Principal Investigator); Ryan Black, PhD (Co-Principal Investigator); Luca Hartman (Elson), MS; Brianna Domaceti, MS; Madeline Kelsey; NSU Institutional Review Board; and other representatives of this institution responsible for overseeing the research. Your personal information may also be given out if required by law. If information from this study is published or presented at scientific meetings, your name and other personal information will not be used. All confidential data will be kept on a private and secure computer of the Principal Investigator. All data will be kept for 36 months from the end of the study. Data will be destroyed after that time by deleting and removing information from the survey platform and computer. Whom can I contact if I have questions, concerns, comments, or complaints? If you have questions now, feel free to ask us. If you have more questions about the research, your research rights, or have a research-related injury, please contact:
- You will read a consent form with a summary of this study and more details
- You can expect the survey to take about 1 hour
- You will be asked to complete several questionnaires
- You will be asked to provide information regarding your past experiences
- You must be 18 years or older, have fluency in English, located in the United States, and have at least one unwanted experience or sexual trauma before the age of 18
- You will receive a $15 Amazon gift card for participating in the study
This survey is an opportunity to make a lasting impact—on psychology, on future survivors, and on society’s understanding of trauma.
Join us in creating a foundation of empathy and understanding—one answer at a time.
Your Experience Matters: Participate Confidentially to Help Others. Many people who endured childhood sexual abuse have found strength in their stories. Your experiences are unique and valuable, and sharing them could be the key to creating new tools that help professionals understand and measure the impact of childhood abuse.
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