how do adolescents define depression? - cIRcle - University of ...

Appendices
study will help us better understand the concept of depression and help-seeking behaviors of
our local youth.
What are the study procedures?
All of the adolescents in your child's class are being asked to participate. We are
interested in the thoughts and experiences of students in grades 8 and 11. Students who
participate in the study will be asked to fill out a set of questionnaires in their classrooms that
will take approximately 50 minutes to complete during class time for 1 session. The
questionnaires will be confidential and no names will appear on any of the forms. Most of the
questionnaires have been used previously in research in school settings and there have been
no ill effects from answering these questions. One set of questions asks students to provide
information about their background, such as age, gender, or language spoken at home. The
other questionnaires assess social and emotional competence. Students are also asked to
define depression, and how they make decisions to seek help. Many students find the
questionnaires interesting. Students whose parents do not provide consent to participate in the
study will be given work to do within the classroom that is relevant to the subject of the class
they are in at the time. Following completion of the questionnaires, the class will resume.
In our project, we are not, in any sense "testing" the youth. There are no right or wrong
answers-we simply want to know how adolescents define depression in others their age and in
themselves, and what they do about it. Participation in this study is voluntary and withdrawal
from the research study or refusal to participate at any time will not jeopardize the student in any
way.
How will privacy and confidentiality be maintained?
All of your child's answers will be completely confidential and will not be made available
to other students, parents, teachers, or any school or university personnel. However, if a
participant's answers to one measure suggest that he or she may be feeling depressed or
thinking about hurting himself or herself, contact will be made with the participant, parent or
guardian, and the school counsellor. Due to the nature of this study, a small number of students
may provide information about their well-being that warrants further investigation. Right after
completion of the questionnaires, Ms. Fuks Geddes will score one set of questions for each
participant's level of depression, and potential for self harm. Ms. Fuks Geddes will contact each
participant who scores in the potential risk for clinical depression and refer them to their school
counsellor who will NOT be shown any answers to the questions. If we refer this child to the
school counsellor for further follow up for potential risk for clinical depression, we will send the
parent or guardian a note within a 24 hour period of referral to inform them that we have
referred their child to the school counsellor. Additionally, the school counsellor will be prepared
to meet with these individuals. For those few participants who may express that they feel like
hurting themselves, Ms. Czesia Fuks Geddes will contact these participants within 24 hours to
ask them if they feel like hurting themselves at present. If these very few participants respond
that they feel like hurting themselves presently, they will be referred to the school counsellor and
the parent or guardian will be contacted by telephone within 24 hours of this response.
No specific child will be referred to by name or identified in any way in the report of the
results. Students' names will be removed from any questionnaires and be replaced with a code
number. All documents will be kept in a locked cabinet in the custody of the Co-Investigator,
Ms. Czesia Fuks Geddes. Under no circumstances will anyone other than the researchers have
access to the information collected from the students. This is done in order to ensure that
students who may benefit from further evaluation can be identified.
After completing the survey, each participant will receive a resource pamphlet describing
the different resources available for young people on the North Shore and Vancouver.
Is there any compensation?
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