Human Research Ethics Approval Number - H22REA026
Description
This study is being undertaken as part of a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) degree and is interested in who uses the internet and/or social media for suicide-related reasons and who does not, and why. To do this, we need people like you, people with recent experiences of suicidal thoughts and/or behaviours, to participate in this study. We want to learn from you about where you go to seek help and support when you are experiencing such thoughts and/or behaviours. The findings of this study will be used as part of an Honours thesis as well as in academic publications such as journal articles, conference presentations and book chapters. A summary of findings will also be sent to Suicide Prevention Australia, Roses in the Ocean, SANE (Australia), BeyondBlue, Black Dog Institute, and Wesley Suicide Prevention and Awareness Networks.
Participation
To participate in this project, you need to be aged 18 years or older and in the past 6 months have had suicidal thoughts and/or engaged in suicidal behaviours. We need people WHO USE AND DO NOT USE the internet and/or social media for suicide-related reasons to participate in this study. Suicide-related reasons include seeking information or communicating with anonymous online people whose real-life identities you do not know, or you have never met face-to-face. Your participation in this project will involve you completing an online survey comprising of up to 159 questions that will take approximately 10-20 minutes of your time. You are able to participate in this study anonymously. You are able to complete the survey at a time and location that is convenient to you, and you are able to stop and start the survey if you need to take a break from answering questions. If you would like to exit the survey and return at a later time you will be asked to enter a name and create a password. To remain anonymous please use a pseudonym. An email address is not required. These details will not be stored or used by the research team in any way. Your decision to participate or not is entirely voluntary. If you do not wish to participate, you are not obliged to do so. If you decide to participate and later change your mind, you are free to withdraw your participation. You will only be able to withdraw data that you have provided if you have included your contact details when you completed the survey. If you do wish to withdraw your data from this project at any time, please contact the Research Team (contact details at the bottom of this form). If you choose to participate in this survey anonymously you will not be able to withdraw your data. Your decision whether you take part, do not take part, or take part and then withdraw, will in no way impact your current or future relationship with the University of Southern Queensland, any member of the research team or any organisation you are associated with.
Readiness to Participate
Many people who have lived experiences of suicide want to share insights and contribute to suicide research. The insights and wisdom gained through that experience can positively influence suicide prevention and postvention programs. Having a lived experience of suicide can change us quite profoundly. For some, it can leave people feeling devastated and confused about what it means, while for others, it may be a time to reflect on life and what is meaningful to us. Finding the balance between thinking constructively about your experience and managing the potential for experiencing overwhelming emotions can be tricky. That said, there are many ways that people with a lived experience of suicide can help inform and influence suicide prevention and postvention programs. One such way to help is by participating in research. The most crucial consideration for you is your readiness level and that your involvement is a rewarding and positive experience. It is, without question, difficult for some people to talk and think about their lived experiences of suicide. We understand how profoundly your life can be affected, how feelings can change over time or vary depending on the time of year or around the time of significant dates. It’s important to realise that being involved in this research project means that you will be fully informed of what you will need to do, that you will be able to choose what and how much you want us to know about your experiences and that you are free to withdraw from the study at any point during the study and after it has been completed. Whilst everyone is different in terms of their readiness you may wish to ask yourself the following questions to determine your readiness to talk about your experiences. What impact does talking about your lived experience have on you mentally, emotionally and physically? Are there times when it is more difficult to talk about your experiences? What is your energy and drive like after you discuss your experience? Does it take time to recover, or is it lessening as you talk more about it? Are you able to speak about your experience with suicide without feeling consistently anxious and/or overwhelmed with grief or anger? Your answers to these questions may help you determine if you are ready to share your experiences with others. Adapted and used with permission from Roses in the Ocean.
Expected Benefits
It is expected that this project may not directly benefit you. However, there is potential future benefit to online and social media users. It is hoped that the outcomes of this research will provide insight into who uses the internet and/or social media platforms for suicide-related purposes and why do they use such spaces. Findings from this study and future research will be used to develop a user centred online site or app that aims to best support people who go online for suicide-related purposes.
Risks
Your participation in this project may negatively impact on your mood or wellbeing for a short period of time after completion of the online survey. These risks include:
• becoming distressed as a result of some of the questions you are asked.
To minimise these risks the online survey can be completed at your own pace and at a time and place that is convenient to you. You can come back to the survey should you need a break from answering. In addition, if you score highly on one of the questionnaires, an automatic alert will pop up on the last page of the survey. This is the page post survey submission. The alert will draw your attention to your high score and encourage you to reach out and contact one of the support services that are listed on this last page.
If you need to talk to someone about your suicidal thoughts and/or behaviours immediately please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636, or SANE Australia on 1800 187 263.
For additional support you may also wish to consider contacting the following organisations:
Beyond Blue chat https://online.beyondblue.org.au/#/chat/start
Beyond Blue online peer support forums https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/online-forums
Lifeline crisis support chat https://www.lifeline.org.au/crisis-chat
Lifeline text 047713 11 14
SANE Australia online peer support forums https://saneforums.org
SANE Counselling https://www.sane.org/counselling-support
SANE email https://www.sane.org/contact-us
USQ Psychology and Counselling Clinics
Toowoomba 07 4631 1763 email: psychclinic@usq.edu.au
Ipswich 07 3812 6163 email: pcclinic@usq.edu.au
Emergency Services 000
You may also wish to talk with your local general practitioner and/or psychologist/counsellor.
Privacy and Confidentiality
All comments and responses will be treated confidentially unless required by law. Any data collected as a part of this project will be stored securely as per the University of Southern Queensland’s Research Data Management policy. Participation in this study means that all data that you have provided will be made available for future research purposes. Future research projects that use your data will be subject to ethics approval. All data will be confidentially managed as per the requirements of the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (Chapter 3.1) and external requests to access the dataset will be assessed by the Principal Investigator and distributed where appropriate. You cannot participate in the project and not make your data available for future research. A summary of the results of the project may be requested by contacting the Student Researcher or Principal Investigator by either email or phone (contact details below). The results may be requested in hardcopy (sent by post) or electronically (sent by email). You can participate in this study anonymously. If you choose to, you can include your name and contact details, please be assured that this information will be treated confidentially. This information will also be stored as per University of Southern Queensland’s Research Data Management policy.
Consent to Participate
To confirm your agreement to participate in this project, we ask that you tick the CONSENT box that indicates that you agree to participate in this study. Ticking CONSENT will begin the online survey.
Questions or Further Information about the Project
Please refer to the Research Team Contact Details at the bottom of the page to have any questions answered or to request further information about this project.
Concerns or Complaints Regarding the Conduct of the Project
If you have any concerns or complaints about the ethical conduct of the project, you may contact the University of Southern Queensland Manager of Research Integrity and Ethics on +61 7 4631 1839 or email researchintegrity@usq.edu.au. The Manager of Research Integrity and Ethics is not connected with the research project and can facilitate a resolution to your concern in an unbiased manner.
Thank you for taking the time to help with this research project. Please make a copy of this page for your information and safe keeping.
Research Team Contact Details
Student Researcher Details
Mrs Amy Briggs
Email: u1099380@umail.usq.edu.au
Mobile: 0458 112 099
Principal Investigator and Supervisor Details
Professor Andrea Lamont-Mills
Email: andrea.lamont-mills@usq.edu.au
Telephone: +61 7 3812 6159
There are 159 questions in this survey.
