Labelling your child’s internal states

We are recruiting for a study looking at differences in the ways that mothers label their own and their child’s internal states.

Previous research has shown that there are differences in the ways that adults perceive their internal states (such as heartbeat or breathing rate), and that this may be mediated by biological and/or social factors, with some evidence for a similar phenomenon in children. These differences may relate to how individuals label their internal states, and how parents label their children’s states. Therefore, the aim of this current study is to investigate possible differences in the labelling of internal states in adulthood, and differences in female caregivers’ labelling of their child’s internal states.

What will I be asked to do?
If you choose to take part in the study, you will be asked to complete a questionnaire that will ask you about the reasons why you might feel good or bad. Additionally, you will be asked to complete another questionnaire that will ask to choose likely reasons why your child (or one of your children) may laugh or cry. We will also ask you some questions about yourself, including your age and physical health and your child’s sex, age and physical health. The overall duration of this survey is approximately 15-20 minutes. In appreciation for your time you will be have the chance to enter a prize draw to win a £50 Amazon voucher.

Are there any exclusion criteria?
Participants will be able to take part in this survey if they are between 18-60 years of age and identify as a cisgender female. Participants must be the mother and primary caregiver of a child between the ages of 6 months – 8 years who has no known psychiatric or neurodevelopmental differences. In addition, their gender identity must currently align with their sex assigned at birth. Caregivers must have English as a first language, or as one of their first languages if multilingual. Caregivers must have no known psychiatric disorders or neurodevelopmental differences. Caregivers will not be able to take part if they have visual or hearing problems.

Will my information be safe?
All scores will be recorded using an anonymous identifying number only. All data will be kept in a secure, password protected folder. The results may be published later in an academic journal or disseminated at academic conferences. However, this will only include information of the overall results, rather than individual results, and there is no risk that you could be identified by name. You will be allowed to withdraw from the study at any point if you wish, even after you have given your consent. More detailed information about withdrawing from the study can be found in the debrief sheet at the end of the experiment. If you would like to withdraw before the end, please contact a member of the research team using the details at the bottom of this document. If you do not decide to withdraw, your personal data (such as your consent form or contact information) will be stored for a maximum of five years, at which point it will be deleted. Data which is not linked to your personal information (such as scores on questionnaires) will be indefinitely stored online on the Open Science Framework. 

What are the risks and benefits of taking part?
There are no risks associated with taking part in the study.

Researchers involved:

Dr Jennifer Murphy: Royal Holloway, University of London (jennifer.murphy@rhul.ac.uk)

Dr Rebecca Brewer: Royal Holloway, University of London (Rebecca.Brewer@rhul.ac.uk)

Ms Freya Prentice: University College London (freya.prentice.19@ucl.ac.uk)

DATA PROTECTION, FUNDING AND ETHICAL CLEARANCE

Royal Holloway, University of London is the sponsor for this study and is based in the UK. We will be using information from you in order to undertake this study and will act as the data controller for this study. This means that we are responsible for looking after your information and using it properly. Any data you provide during the completion of the study will be stored securely on local servers. Royal Holloway is designated as a public authority and in accordance with the Royal Holloway and Bedford New College Act 1985 and the Statutes which govern the College, we conduct research for the public benefit and in the public interest. Royal Holloway has put in place appropriate technical and organisational security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in any unauthorised way or altered or disclosed. Royal Holloway has also put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data security breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected breach where legally required to do so. To safeguard your rights, we will use the minimum personally-identifiable information possible (i.e., the email address you provide us). The lead researcher will keep your contact details confidential and will use this information only as required (i.e., to provide a summary of the study results if requested and/or for the prize draw). The lead researcher will keep information about you and data gathered from the study for 5 years after the study has finished. Certain individuals from RHUL may look at your research records to check the accuracy of the research study. If the study is published in a relevant peer-reviewed journal, the anonymised data may be made available to third parties. The people who analyse the information will not be able to identify you. You can find out more about your rights under the GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 by visiting https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/about-us/more/governance-and-strategy/data-protection/ and if you wish to exercise your rights, please contact dataprotection@royalholloway.ac.ukPlease complete the consent form so that we know whether you agree to take part in this study.

This project is funded by the South East Network for Social Sciences (SeNSS). This study has been reviewed and approved by the College Ethics Committee at Royal Holloway, University of London. The members of the research team have been checked and cleared by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). If you are unhappy or have concerns about any aspect of the project, and do not wish to contact the research team, you can contact the Research Ethics Committee via email at ethics@rhul.ac.uk, or by phone at 01784 414930. The committee is entirely independent of the research and will respond to your concerns.