Application to the North Seattle Community College

Application to the North Seattle Community College

Human Subjects Review Committee

Name of Investigators Kimberly Gilbert, Alexa Osaki, Andy Rosario

Date 02/01/11

Phone

Proposal title

Examining the relationships between ethnic identity, self-esteem, and psychological well-being.

1.Purpose of study: What will be the central question or issue your project will be exploring?

The purpose of our research study is to examine how North Seattle Community College (NSCC) students and personnel define ethnic identity, as evaluated by the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM; Phinney, 1992), and how this definition of ethnic identity correlates with a) self-esteem, as measured by the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES; 1965) and b) psychological well-being, as measured by the Scales of Psychological Well-Being (SPWB) dimensions of autonomy, positive relations with others, and self-acceptance (Ryff, 1992).

2.How will you conduct your investigation (please attach any materials that you are going to use in the exact format that participants will receive. Include any recruitment material)?

Potential participants will be asked by one of the investigators listed above if they would like to participate in our study.

Participants will be handed a consent form (please see attached Informed Consent Form) which will outline the information necessary to make an informed decision whether they wish to participate in our study.

Participants that sign the consent form will be given a questionnaire that includes:

a.Jean Phinney'sMultigroup Ethnic Identity Measures (MEIM)

b.Morris Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (SES)

c.Carol Ryff's Scale of Psychological Well-Being (SPWB) subsets: autonomy, positive relations with others, and self-acceptance, as well as questions from SPWB subsets: purpose in life, personal growth, and environmental mastery to provide randomized non-measured questions

d.demographic information

4)Participants will place completed questionnaires in a ballot -type box (box with hole cut in lid) to provide anonymity to participants.

5)After participants have placed completed questionnaires in the box, they will be given a debriefing form (please see attached form) that includes all necessary information for the participant to understand the study, as well as how to obtain a final report of the study, and resources to provide any type of counseling that may be needed/wanted as a result of the study.

3.Sample/population:

a. Describe the sample size and demographic requirements and location of recruitment for the participants.

The participants will be North Seattle Community College students, faculty, and staff due to the convenience of this sample. Our only demographic requirement will be that all participants are at least 18 years of age in order to consent to their participation.

b. Who will recruit subjects and how?

Faculty sponsor, Ann Voorhies, will be recruiting subjects by a) creating flyers that will be posted around NSCC campus; b) informing her students from other psychology class of the event; c) asking colleagues to tell their students of the event. The flyer will include information about the purpose of event, when and where the event will take place, and that there will be baked goods available.

4.What ideas do you have for making your work public?

We will be presenting our findings from the research study at a symposium at NSCC on Friday, March 18th.

5.What possible risks can you envision there might be to subjects? (See list of risks to consider.)

Psychological distress from asking questions about the participants' ethnic identity, self-esteem, and psychological well-being. Loss of privacy caused by anyone walking around participants (in / out of Baxter Events Center) while participants are responding to questionnaire.

6.How might your study be able to ameliorate those risks?

To ameliorate the risk of psychological distress caused by the survey questions, participants will be notified on the consent form that their participation is voluntary and will not result in the loss of benefits that the participant is entitled to receive (e.g. extra credit, if applicable, and/or baked goods). The consent form also explains that participants are not obligated to answer any question that they do not wish to answer. Also, the debriefing form will include counseling resources for participants that seek further assistance from any psychological distress caused by the study.

To ameliorate the risk of the participants' loss of privacy and/or confidentiality, the consent forms will be kept separate from completed questionnaires. The consent form will outline risks including a reminder for participants to respect the privacy of their fellow participants. Participants will place their completed survey in a ballot - box (box with hole cut in lid), so that investigators cannot in any way link a questionnaire to a participant, providing anonymity to the participant. The data will be stored in a locked filing cabinet in the office of the faculty sponsor, Ann Voorhies. All surveys will be destroyed after the data is used for analysis by the investigators listed above.

7.Benefits: Assess the potential benefits that may be gained by any individual participant, as well as benefits which may accrue to society in general as a result of the planned work. Please specify any compensation such as monetary or academic credit that you may offer as part of the study.

There are many potential benefits that may be gained as a result of this work, including, but not limited to:

1) Provide further evidence of the relationship between ethnic identity, self-esteem, and psychological well-being and potentially show how ethnic identity moderates self-esteem, and psychological well-being.

2) If ethnic identity is in fact a moderator for self-esteem and psychological well-being, what the implications are -- e.g., how being a non-White minority affects these components when belonging/living in a society that values the White majority.

3) Creates an opportunity for dialogue to occur about the results of this study and specifically, what the results will mean to NSCC students and personnel -- what can be done?

4) For some participants, the survey may raise awareness about the sensitivity surrounding the issues covered in the survey (i.e., ethnic identity, self-esteem, and/or psychological well-being), and may encourage those participants to seek out assistance (e.g., counseling).

8.Have you created an Informed Consent Form which you will ask your prospective subjects to read and sign? If applicable, please attach this form with your application.

Please see attached Informed Consent Form.

INFORMED CONSENT FORM

Social Relationships

Faculty Sponsor: Ann Voorhies, Ph. D.

Investigators: Kimberly Gilbert, Alexa Osaki, Andy Rosario

Purpose and Benefits

You are invited to participate in a survey as part of a research study on social behaviors. Participants will receive benefits including baked goods and/or extra credit (only for approved courses) for their participation.

Procedures

We ask participants to stay within the Baxter Events Center while taking this survey, and to answer the questions without assistance from other people. We also ask that participants respect the privacy of their fellow participants and avoid looking at their questionnaires. Participants will be asked to read and respond to questions using a four-point Likert scale (i.e., 4 - Strongly Agree, 3 - Agree, 2 - Disagree, 1 - Strongly Disagree), with the exception of demographical information. This survey should take 15 - 20 minutes to complete.

Risks

It is possible that some participants will feel uncomfortable answering certain questions in the survey. Some participants may feel a loss of privacy caused by people walking around them while they complete the survey.

Confidentiality

Your consent form will be separated from the questionnaire immediately upon collection, and no link will remain between your name and your data to guarantee anonymity. Data will be stored securely and will be made available only to the persons listed above who are conducting the study. Surveys completed by the participants will be destroyed after the data is used for the purpose of this study by the investigators listed above. No reference will be made in oral or written reports that could link you to the study. Your confidential data may be used in future research, presentations or teaching opportunities.

Contact

If you have questions at any time about the study or the procedures, (or you experience adverse effects as a result of participating in this study) you may contact the faculty sponsor, Ann Voorhies, at . If you have questions about your rights as a participant, contact the chair of the NSCC Human Subjects Review Committee, Tom Kerns, at .

CONTINUED ON BACK

INFORMED CONSENT FORM

Participation

Your participation in this study is voluntary; you may decline to participate without penalty. If you decide to participate, you may withdraw from the study at any time without penalty and without loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. If you withdraw from the study before data collection is completed, your data will be destroyed.

Consent

Your signature on this form indicates that you are at least 18 years of age and have understood to your satisfaction the information regarding participation in this research study and agree to participate as a subject. In no way does this waive your legal rights nor release the investigators, sponsors, or involved institutions from their legal and professional responsibilities.

I am at least 18 years old and have read the above information and agree to participate in this study. I have received a copy of this form.

Participant's Name (PRINT)
______/ Investigator’s Name (Print)
______
Participant's Signature
______/ Investigator’s Signature
______
Date ______/ Date ______

Copies to: Participant Principal Investigator

DEBRIEFING FORM

Social Relationships

PURPOSE

The purpose of our research study was to examine how North Seattle Community College (NSCC) students and personnel define ethnic identity as evaluated by the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM; Phinney, 1992), and how this definition of ethnic identity correlates with a) self-esteem, as measured by the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES; 1965) and b) psychological well-being, as measured by the Scales of Psychological Well-Being (SPWB) dimensions of autonomy, positive relations with others, and self-acceptance (Ryff, 1992).

Our hypothesis held that the MEIM score would show a strong correlation between SES and SPWB scores. We further proposed that a strong correlation between these components may support ethnic identity as a controlling factor to self-esteem and psychological well-being.

BACKGROUND

Crisp, R. J., & Turner, R. N. (2010).Cognitive adaptation to the experience of social and cultural diversity.Psychological Bulletin.doi: 10.1037/a0021840

Umana-Taylor, J.A., & Shin N. (2007) An examination of ethnic identity and self esteem with diverse populations: Exploring variation by ethnicity and geography. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 13(2), 178-186. doi: 10.1037/1099-9809.13.2.178

CONFIDENTIALITY

To further the collection of unbiased data, we ask that you please do not share information about the purpose of this study with other participants or people who might wish to participate in this study today.

FINAL REPORT

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the final report of this study, contact the primary investigator, Kimberly Gilbert, at . You are also invited to attend the research symposium where the above listed investigators will present the findings of this study.

CONTACT

If you have questions at any time about the study or the procedures, (or you experience adverse effects as a result of participating in this study,) you may contact the faculty sponsor/investigator Ann Voorhies, at . If you have questions about your rights as a participant, contact the chair of the NSCC Human Subjects Review Committee, Tom Kerns, at . Thank you!

FOR FURTHER READING

Black Like Me

By John Howard Griffin

New American Library, Penguin Group Inc. New York, New York.

Ethnicity and Race: Making Identities in a Changing World

By Stephen E. Cornell & Dr. Douglas Hartmann

Pine Forge Press, A Sage Publications Company, Thousand Oaks, California

I’m Chocolate, You’re Vanilla: Raising Healthy Black and Biracial Children in a Race-Conscious World

By Marguerite Wright

Counseling Resources:

NSCC COUNSELING SERVICES

LOCATION: Student Success Services CC 2346A (2nd floor, north end of the College Center)

HOURS: M-F 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

CONTACT: (206) 527-3676

WEBSITE:

SEATTLE/KING COUNTY COMMUNITY CRISIS CLINIC

24-hour community crisis line

CONTACT: (206) 461-3222

WEBSITE:

King County Department of Public Health (DPH)

Health and Wellness Service

206-296-4600

Good Samaritan Behavioral Health

4301 S Pine Suite 456, Tacoma, WA 98409

(253)697-8650 M-F 8am-5pm

Ethnic Support Council

311 Oak Street, Kelso, WA 98626

(360) 636-2791 Ext: 8884251176

M-F 9am-5pm

Lutheran Community Services Northwest- North Puget Sound Area

6330 195th St SW Lynwood, WA, 98036

(425) 670-8984 M-Th 10am-3pm