ISM Survey

Inventory of Interpersonal Strengths Measure (ISM) Study

RESEARCH CONSENT FORM: INTERPERSONAL STRENGTHS STUDY

Distress in relationships with others is a very common reason for seeking help, and psychologists have long been interested in the ways that people experience interpersonal distress. People also have strengths and capabilities in relating to others, and interest is growing in the ways that people experience these strengths. Interpersonal strengths are important but little-studied in psychology, and our research study should contribute significantly to knowledge in this area. We would like to ask you for your participation in our research study on how people experience these strengths. The first questionnaire that follows this consent form asks you to rate yourself on a number of relationship strengths that people may have. The subsequent questionnaires ask you to rate a number of adjectives as to how descriptive they are of you; to rate your overall life satisfaction, to rate how comfortable you are in relationships, and to rate some characteristics of close relationships you may have or have had. These questionnaires are established measures that will help us confirm the validity of our new measure.

We expect that you may find it useful and interesting to think about how these interpersonal characteristics and skills may apply to yourself. To date, no one has reported negative effects from participating in this study, and none are anticipated. This study should take about one hour and fifteen minutes to complete.

Please note that your answers to these questionnaires will not be connected with your name or other unique identifying information. Your responses to these questionnaires will be stored anonymously, and will become part of a larger data set that will allow additional research analyses to be conducted as the number of participants grows.

Please note that you may skip any question if you so wish and that you may withdraw from this study without penalty.

If your participation in this study is part of the University of Michigan Department of Psychology Subject Pool, please note that this study involves a single one-hour session. If after you review the questionnaire and decide that you wish to withdraw, you will receive one hour’s subject pool credit in any case.

If you have any questions or concerns about the questionnaire, please feel free to contact Dr. Robert Hatcher, Principal Investigator, at the University of Michigan Psychological Clinic at any time (734-764-3471).

Should you have questions regarding your participation in research, please contact Kate Keever, University Of Michigan, Behavioral Sciences Institutional Review Board, 540 East Liberty #202, Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2210, Telephone (734) 936-0933, Fax, (734) 998-7191. The eResearch ID number for this study is B04-00007711-M1.

Sincerely,

Robert L. Hatcher, Ph.D.
Director