The Impact of Participation in Research About Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence: An Investigation of Harms, Benefits, and Regrets in Young Adolescents in the Western Cape of South Africa

Navigating distress: Exploring factors affecting adolescent girls' wellbeing during and after a violence-focused survey in Maharashtra, India

BACKGROUND

Ensuring the emotional wellbeing of participants in violence-focused research is a paramount ethical requirement. While previous research suggests that most participants in violence-focused studies do not report harmful consequences, little is known about the experiences of adolescent participants in low- and middle-income countries.

OBJECTIVE

This study, conducted in Maharashtra, India, aims at assessing how participant, contextual, and interviewer characteristics affect the level of distress that adolescent girls experience after participation in a violence survey.

METHODS

A total of 3049 13-18-year-old girls were interviewed on their experiences of family and intimate partner violence. Following the interview, both girls and interviewers completed a 5-item questionnaire on perceived participant distress. Linear regression analyses were conducted to identify possible correlates of girls' distress.

RESULTS

Less than 10 % of participants reported feelings of distress upon completion of the interview. Higher levels of interviewers' empathy were significantly associated with decreased levels of participants' distress (standardised beta: -0.25, p < 0.001). Reported distress was also lower if girls had opted for an audio- and mobile-assisted self-interview (ACASI) format (standardised beta: -0.05, p < 0.01) and if the interview was conducted by someone older (standardised beta: -0.22, p < 0.001). Conversely, if interviews were conducted in participants' homes and by interviewers with higher education levels, reported distress was significantly higher (standardised beta: 0.06, p < 0.01 and 0.12, p < 0.001, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that incorporating empathetic interviewing and trust-building techniques into interviewer training, offering ACASI interviews, and choosing interview locations that ensure confidentiality can help protect the wellbeing of participants in violence research.

"The facilitator is not a bystander": exploring the perspectives of interdisciplinary experts on trauma research

Objective

This study investigates the concepts, knowledge, and guiding principles that inform the practice of professionals researching trauma or working directly with individuals who have lived and living experiences of trauma. These aspects are explored with the aim of identifying current practices and potential gaps which may contribute to more trauma-informed biomarker-based research approaches.

Method

The perspectives of experts were explored through semi-structured interviews with seven participants; these individuals represented trauma research, clinical practice, and trauma-informed physical activity domains.

Results

A thematic analysis of the collected data revealed three focal areas highlighted by participants from all disciplines: "If I want to know trauma in the body of a person I need to know the person's language" which related to experiences of discussing trauma with clients; "What all people need is a safe place" relayed the importance of safety for participants working with the trauma expert; and "the facilitator is not a bystander" framing trauma-related work as a collaborative process between participants and their care providers.

Conclusion

Evidence of formal implementation of trauma-informed practices within research settings is lacking. This gap is identified within background literature, while the importance of implementing these practices is emphasized by the participants of this study. This presents an opportunity to apply the insights of the interviewed experts toward advancing trauma research methodologies. Adapting biomarker-based research methodologies to fit a trauma- and violence-informed model may have benefits for the quality of participant experiences, research data, and knowledge of effective interventions.

Adolescents' Experiences of Participating in Sensitive Research: A Scoping Review of Qualitative Studies

Despite an increasing emphasis on adolescents' participation rights, there are concerns about their participation in research on sensitive topics, such as trauma and violence. This review reports findings of a scoping review that examined the nature and extent of qualitative studies conducted with adolescents about their experiences of participating in research on sensitive topics. Studies were identified by searching electronic databases and grey literature and reported on qualitative and mixed-methods studies eliciting adolescents' experiences of participating in research on sensitive topics. Seventeen (17) studies were included after screening 4426 records. The scoping review revealed significant adolescent benefits from participation, relating to positive emotions, skill acquisition and enhanced self-efficacy and interpersonal relationships. To a lesser extent, participants also experienced burdens relating to negative emotions, concerns about confidentiality and privacy and inconvenience of participation, which were mitigated by careful attention to research design and researcher engagement and training. Participants shared insights into their motivation to participate, and factors that impacted their experiences of research, such as ethical considerations, including consent procedures, safety and connection in research, study procedures and documentation and researcher characteristics. There were tangible benefits and some burdens involved in adolescents' participation in sensitive research. This review considers implications for research and practice, such as the need to regularly publish findings of consultations, assessing caregiver consent requirements, obtaining adolescent views on study documents and measures and building on existing research, differentiated by age, gender and dis/ability status, especially in diverse and under-represented regions.

The ethics of child maltreatment surveys in relation to participant distress: Implications of social science evidence, ethical guidelines, and law

Epidemiological surveys measuring the prevalence of child maltreatment generate essential knowledge that is required to enhance human rights, promote gender equality, and reduce child abuse and neglect and its effects. Yet, evidence suggests Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) may assess the risk of these studies using higher than normal thresholds, based on a perception they may cause high distress to participants. It is essential for IRBs and researchers to have an accurate understanding of the nature and extent of participant distress associated with these studies, and of the duties of researchers towards survey participants, so that meritorious research is endorsed and duties to participants discharged. Assessment by IRBs of the ethics of such research must be appropriately informed by scientific evidence, ethical principles, and legal requirements. This article adds to knowledge by considering participant distress in child maltreatment surveys and its appropriate ethical and operational treatment. We provide an updated overview of scientific evidence of the frequency and severity of distress in studies of child maltreatment, a review of ethical requirements including a focus on beneficence and participant welfare, and a new analysis of researchers' legal duties towards participants. Our analyses demonstrate that participant distress is infrequent and transitory, that researchers can satisfy ethical requirements towards participants, and that legal liability does not extend to emotional distress. Informed by these bodies of knowledge, we distil key principles of good epidemiological practice to provide solutions to operational requirements in these surveys, which both fulfil ethical requirements to participants, and demonstrate trauma-informed practice.

Dating SOS: a systematic and theory-based development of a web-based tailored intervention to prevent dating violence among Brazilian youth

BACKGROUND

Dating violence has an alarming prevalence among Brazilian adolescents. School-based preventive programs have been implemented, but remain isolated initiatives with low reach. Health communication strategies based on innovative technologies with a high potential of diffusion are urgent. This study aimed to develop a computer-tailored intervention to prevent victimization and perpetration of dating violence among Brazilian youth.

METHODS

The intervention, called Dating SOS (SOS Namoro), is based on the I-Change Model and attachment theory and is a comprehensive preventive program targeted to young people with a current partner. The intervention design included the stages of needs assessment; definition of objectives of change; development of the library of messages; elaboration of a questionnaire for tailoring feedbacks according to the relevant variables; integration of the content in the software Tailor Builder; pre-testing; and usability and efficacy evaluation planning. Dating SOS is composed of four online sessions. The first session gives a tailored orientation on attachment style and risk perception of violence. The second session addresses knowledge on conflict management, positive and negative social models of intimate relationships and an action plan to improve everyday interactions. The third session covers social norms, self-efficacy and an action plan to cope with conflicts. The fourth session discusses attitudes, social support and an action plan to protect from violence. Improvements on the interface and tailoring refinement was done after pre-testing to improve attractiveness and decrease risk of iatrogenic effects.

DISCUSSION

The principal merit of the present study resides in the development of an innovative strategy based on the qualified use of the internet for education surrounding romantic relationships and the prevention of dating violence among adolescent and young Brazilians, a hitherto unaddressed need in the field. The intervention usability and efficacy should be investigated in further studies.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials. RBR-9frj8q. Prospectively registered on July 25, 2019. http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-9frj8q/.