Participants sought for research study on the “Psychological distress and recovery of former cult members in the UK/North America and Japan”

 

Participants sought for research study  

I [Tomoya Watanabe] am writing to ask if you might be willing to take part in this research study on the “Psychological distress and recovery of former cult members in the UK/North America and Japan” 

I am Tomoya Watanabe and a student studying a master’s programme on the Psychology of  Coercive Control at the University of Salford, UK. I am at the stage of beginning my master’s  dissertation that focuses on psychological distress and recovery of former cult members in the  UK/North America and Japan. Accordingly, I am looking for former cult members who are  willing to take part in this study. 

The purposes of the study are as below; 

1. to comprehensively understand psychological problems and recovery that former cult  members can experience after leaving a cult 

2. to find the similarities and differences of the psychological problems and recovery  between former cult members who live in the UK/North America and Japan. 

What will happen to me if you take part? 

If you take part in the study, you will be asked to answer some questionnaires about your  experiences and feelings after leaving a cult. It will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. 

If you are interested in potentially taking part in the study or need further information, please  contact the researcher by email (T.Watanabe@edu.salford.ac.uk) and I can send you the  participant information sheet for this research study. 

Researcher: Tomoya Watanabe 

MSc Psychology of Coercive Control 

School of Health and Society 

University of Salford 

E-mail; T.Watanabe@edu.salford.ac.uk 

Supervisor: Rod Dubrow-Marshall, PhD 

Programme Leader MSc Psychology of Coercive Control 

School of Health and Society 

University of Salford 

E-mail; R.Dubrow-Marshall@salfrod.ac.uk

_______________________

PARTICIPANT INFORMATION SHEET 

Title of study: Psychological distress and recovery of former cult members in the UK/North  America and Japan 

Name of Researcher: Tomoya Watanabe 

MSc Psychology of Coercive Control, School of Health and Society 

1. Invitation paragraph 

You are being invited to take part in a research project. Before you decide on whether to take part, it  is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what it will involve. Please  take time to read the following information carefully before you decide whether or not you wish to  take part. You are welcome to discuss this project with others if you wish before you make your  decision. Please ask us (T.Watanabe@edu.salford.ac.uk) if there is anything that is not clear or if you  would like more information. 

2. What is the purpose of the study? 

The purposes of the study are to comprehensively understand psychological problems and recovery  that former cult members can experience after leaving a cult and to find the similarities and  differences of the psychological problems and recovery between former cult members who live in  the UK/ North America and Japan. 

3. Why have I been invited to take part? 

You have been invited to take part in this study because you are a former member of a group which  can be described as cult like. You may only take part in this research if you have been out of the group  of which you were a member for at least 6 months and have sought and received support since then. 

4. Do I have to take part? 

It is completely up to you to decide whether or not to take part. If you do decide to take part you will  be given this information sheet to keep and you can still withdraw at any time during taking part and  up to two weeks after taking part without any repercussions. You do not have to give a reason. 

5. What will happen to me if I take part? 

If you take part in the study, you will be asked to answer a questionnaire, via Online Surveys, about  your experiences and feelings after leaving a cult. It will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. 

6. Expenses and payments? 

There are no expenses or payments for taking part in this study, however, by participating in this  study the information we get from the study will help to increase the understanding of psychological  problems and recovery that former cult members can experience. 

7. What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part? 

As the questionnaire includes questions that may recall your harmful experiences, you may cause  acute psychological distress. Therefore, you can stop the answer or the participation anytime during  taking part if feeling distressed. There are also some support organisations which can be contacted  should you feel the need for support after doing the interview: 

- The Samaritans (https://www.samaritans.org/) 

- Hope Valley Counselling (specialist support service for former cult members)  (https://www.hopevalleycounselling.com/) 

8. What are the possible benefits of taking part? 

We cannot promise the study will help you but the information we get from the study will help to  increase the understanding of psychological problems and recovery that former cult members can  experience. 

9. What if there is a problem? 

If you have a concern about any aspect of this study, you should ask to speak to the researcher by  email (T.watanabe@edu.salford.ac.uk) who will do their best to answer your questions.  

Following this, if you have any issues or complaints, you may contact the research supervisor Rod  Dubrow-Marshall by email (r.dubrow-marshall@salford.ac.uk) or by telephone (0161 295 6988) 

If you still have any concerns you can School of Health and Society Taught Ethics Panel Chair/Deputy  Chair: Linda Dubrow-Marshall email: l.dubrow-marshall@salford.ac.uk / Nick Spence email:  n.spence@salford.ac.uk 

10. Will my taking part in the study be kept confidential? 

Your data will be treated in an entirely confidential way. 

After your data will be anonymous and given a research code, it will be kept on the secure network  drive and a password protected computer accessed by only the researcher. In the article, all data  collected will be averaged or summarized not to identify your participation.  In accordance with the University of Salford ethics policy, all data will be stored and archived for a  minimum of 3 years to allow verification of data from external sources if necessary.2 

  

11. What will happen if I don’t carry on with the study? 

If you withdraw from the study, we will destroy all the information and data collected from you, and  will not use data in the study. The timeframe for withdrawal of data from the study is up until two weeks after completing the questionnaire. 

12. What will happen to the results of the research study? 

All data collected will be averaged or summarised, and then analysed statistically. Only the processed data will be shown in my dissertation for a master’s degree in the Psychology of  Coercive Control, and may be in a publication of an academic journal.  

If you are interested in the results of the study, I will provide you with a final copy of the dissertation  on request. 

13. Who is organising or sponsoring the research? 

This study is supervised by Dr Rod Dubrow-Marshall PhD, and will be written up as my dissertation  contribution towards a master’s degree in the Psychology of Coercive Control. 

14. Further information and contact details:  

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact either of us at 

Researcher: T.Watanabe@edu.salford.ac.uk 

Supervisor: R.Dubrow-Marshall@salford.ac.uk 

Thank you for taking time to read this information sheet. 

If you would like to take part in this study then please click on the following Online Surveys Link: 

https://salford.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/psychological-distress-and-recovery-of-former-cult-members