Title of Study: The Relationship between the risk factors for, severity and associated harms of gambling.

Names of Researchers: Claire Harman

You are being invited to take part in a research study. Participation is completely voluntary, so it is important that you understand why the study is being conducted and what it would involve from you. Please read the following information carefully, to help you decide whether you would like to take part and to answer any questions you may have. This should take about 5 minutes, and you are free to talk to others about the study.

*****Please note that this study includes sensitive questions relating to gambling, gambling risk factors and gambling harms, which some people may find distressing*********

What is the purpose of the study?

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the risk factors for, severity and associated harms of gambling, which will address gaps in current research by providing insight into gambling and contributing factors. The findings of this study may be practically applied to enhance the support for those in need. To investigate this, we are asking participants to complete a questionnaire. If you would like to participate, please click ‘next’ at the bottom of this page and complete the consent form. The questionnaire will then be presented to you online.  The questionnaire includes the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS), the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test Extended (Dudit-E) questionnaire, the Drug Use Disorder Identification Test (DUDIT), the Alcohol Use and Disorders Test (AUDIT), and the Adverse Childhood Experiences questionnaire (ACE).

Why have I been invited?

We are inviting approximately 500 members from a number of groups aged 18+ to participate in this study.

Do I have to participate?

It is entirely up to you to decide whether to take part. If you would like to, you will be asked to sign a consent form. You will be free to withdraw at any time without giving a reason, and this will not affect your legal rights.

What will I be asked to do?

If you decide to take part, you will be asked to complete a questionnaire, which will take approximately 10-20 minutes in total. Some of the questions include sensitive questions relating to gambling, gambling risk factors and gambling harms. If you find this distressing, feel free to end your participation by closing the browser window at any time. All of your responses will be anonymous, and the data will be collated and analysed by researcher Claire Harman at the University of Lincoln for her PhD Thesis Project and may contribute to published journal articles in the future.

Will I be paid expenses for participating?

You will not be paid to participate in the study.

*****Please note that this study includes sensitive questions relating to gambling, gambling risk factors and gambling harms, which some people may find distressing*********

What are the possible risks of participating?

As previously mentioned, this study includes sensitive questions relating to gambling, gambling risk factors and gambling harms. If you would like additional support following your participation, you may wish to talk to a friend or family member, or contact one of the following:

•            Your local GP

•            University of Lincoln Student Well-Being Centre: 01522 886400

•            Samaritans: 116 123

•            Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust Wellbeing Helpline: 0800 001 4331

•            National Gambling Helpline: 0808 802 0133

What are the possible benefits of participating?

There will be no direct benefits to you for taking part. However, your participation will help us to better understand the relationships to gambling, gambling risk factors and gambling harms, which may lead to the improvement in understanding and support.

Will my participation be kept confidential?

We will follow ethical and legal practice and all information about you will be handled in confidence. At the end of the questionnaire, you will be asked if you would like to participate in a second study (a semi-structured interview) by providing your first name and email address. This is also voluntary and will take place at a later date. 

What is the privacy notice?

The University of Lincoln is the lead organisation and data controller for this study. This means that we are responsible for looking after your information and using it properly. The university’s Research Participant Privacy Notice (https://ethics.lincoln.ac.uk/research-privacy-notice/) explains how we will be using information from you in order to undertake this study.

What if I want to withdraw?

Your participation is voluntary, and you are free to withdraw at any time, without giving any reason, and without your legal rights being affected. You can withdraw by simply closing your browser.  As your participation is anonymous it will not be possible to withdraw your data once submitted, as we have no way of identifying you. If you withdraw before submitting your data, all your answers will be deleted.

Where will my data be stored?

The data obtained from this study will be stored securely on the university OneDrive in a password protected file, with only the researchers having access to it.

What will happen to the results of the study?

The results of this study will be written into a report as required for the PhD Psychology programme and may contribute to published journal articles in the future. Data will be treated confidentially and any publication resulting from this study will report only data that does not identify individual participants.  Participants’ anonymised responses may be shared with other researchers or made available in online data repositories.

Who is organising and funding the research?

This research is being organised and funded by the University of Lincoln.

Who has reviewed the study?

All research conducted by the University of Lincoln is looked at by an independent group of people, called a Research Ethics Committee, to protect your interests.

What if there is a problem?

If you have any concerns about this study, you should contact the researchers using the details given at the end of this information sheet, who will do their best to address these. If you remain unhappy and wish to complain formally, you can do this by contacting ethics@lincoln.ac.uk.

If you feel that we have let you down in relation to your information rights then please contact the Information Compliance team by email (compliance@lincoln.ac.uk) or by post (Information Compliance, Secretariat, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, LN6 7TS).

You can also make complaints directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the independent authority upholding information rights for the UK by contacting them via their website (www.ico.org.uk) or telephone helpline number (0303 123 1113).

Again, please note that this study includes sensitive questions relating to gambling, gambling risk factors and gambling harms, which some people may find distressing.

Contact details of researchers:

Claire Harman (28418733@students.lincoln.ac.uk)

Additional Support Options:

National Gambling Helpline: 0808 8020 133 (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week)

Gamblers Anonymous: gamblersanonymous.org.uk

Gamcare: https://www.gamcare.org.uk/get-support/talk-to-us-now

Samaritans: 116 123; email jo@samaritans.org

SANEline 0300 304 7000

This survey contains Karma to get free survey responses at SurveySwap.io