What is the purpose of this study?

Romantic partners can be important influences on our lives. Sometimes, romantic partners can influence each other’s alcohol and cannabis use, and their alcohol and cannabis use can influence their relationship.

In this study, we want to improve our understanding of romantic relationships and alcohol and cannabis use among young adults, so we’re asking young adult romantic couples (18-29 years old and living in Washington State) to complete a one-time virtual training session, a baseline survey, and 30 quick daily surveys from their phones to better understand their relationship functioning, alcohol and cannabis use, and other thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. 

You can earn up to $200 each for completing the entire study.

What would we ask you to do if you want to participate?

• We would need your contact information and your romantic partner’s contact information.
• Both you and your romantic partner must provide informed consent. 
• If you and your partner are eligible, you will both get an email with a link to schedule a virtual baseline session. Make sure to come together.
•  Virtual Baseline Session: An hour-long session on Zoom, where we will confirm your age and identity, train you in the study procedures, and have you complete a 30-minute baseline questionnaire about your relationship and alcohol/cannabis use. We will ask that you complete this baseline questionnaire in a separate room from your partner, if possible. You and your partner will each get $30 for completing the baseline session. 
• Daily Online Surveys: Starting the day after the baseline session, you and your partner will be asked to complete a 10-minute survey from your phone or computer once a day for 30 days. You and your partner will get $5 each for every survey you complete; you can also earn a $20 bonus if you complete 80% or more of the surveys (at least 24 out of 30). 
• Surveys will ask you questions about your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, including whether or not you and/or your partner consumed alcohol/cannabis and about your relationship.
• Some of the survey items may be sensitive. Examples of the most sensitive survey items include: items assessing interpersonal conflict with your partner (e.g., “I insulted or swore at my partner/My partner did this to me”) and substance use and perceived partner substance use (e.g., “How many hours were you high yesterday?” and/or “Was your romantic partner using cannabis yesterday?”).

We ask that you do not discuss your responses with your partner. Your responses will not be shared with your partner.

Why would you want, or not want, to participate?

You won’t get any direct personal benefits (other than the payment), but there are benefits to society. This is an opportunity to help us better understand how romantic relationships could affect substance use and lead to the development of ways to help reduce substance misuse in young adult couples.

There are a few risks, mostly involving a loss of privacy or unintentional release of info. If your data or the fact that you are participating in this study were to be released to people like your parents, partners, friends, or employers, it could result in negative consequences. This is very unlikely and has not occurred with this study team in the many years we have been doing research at UW.

You could also learn things that you did not know or want to know about your relationship with your partner. Some of the survey questions could be sensitive or make you feel uncomfortable or forced to share information you don’t want to.

If you choose not to participate, we will still give you a list of information and resources within the community at the end of this survey.

How will we protect your from the issues mentioned above?

Identifying information like names or contact information will be stored separately. Your data will be linked with your partner’s data only by a unique ID number. 

However, we have to report to the authorities if we learn that you intend to harm yourself or others. Government or university staff also sometimes review studies to make sure they are being done safely and legally. If a review of this study takes place, your data may be examined.

Participation is always voluntary, and you can choose not to answer any survey questions that you do not want to. You can also stop participating at any time without loosing out on what you have already earned. We ask that you do not share survey answers with your partner, and we will not share your answers with them either. 

To help us protect your privacy, we have a Certificate of Confidentiality from the National Institute of Alcohol Use and Alcoholism (NIAAA. This basically means that we do not have to give out anything that could identify you even if we are asked to by a court of law. We will use the Certificate to resist any demands for identifying information.

The Certificate expires when the NIAAA funding for this study ends in August 2028, and any data collected after expiration is not protected. However, data collected before expiration will still be protected even after August 2028.  

The only limits to this protection are the situations where we have to report to the authorities (as mentioned above) and when a review of our study is needed (also mentioned above). 

The information that we collect in this study might be used for future studies, but we may remove anything that could identify you. If we do so, the information could be used for future research studies or given to another investigator without contacting you. If we want to use or share study information that might identify you, a review board will decide whether or not we need to contact you for permission.

Information about sharing data through the National Institutes of Health

This study is funded by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has developed data (information) banks that collect study data. The NIH will store your de-identified information in these data banks for other researchers to use in future studies on any topic. The researchers could be from government, academic, or commercial institutions. You will not be able to withdraw your information after it has been submitted to the NIH data banks.

Risks associated with sharing information through the NIH data banks include:

• It is possible that your information could be used to identify you when combined with information from other public sources.
•  Others may be able to trace this information back to you or your romantic partner. The risk of this happening right now is small but new technologies could cause it to increase in the future. Someone might end up using this information to learn about your health, relationship, or substance use. 
• Your romantic partner may also trace your responses back to you, since they may know that you are thinking of participating.
• If your data is shared, it could data affect your ability to receive insurance, hurt your relationships, or be used to enforce stereotypes.
• There may be other unknown risks.

It is your choice whether to have your information placed in NIH data banks. If you say “No,” you can still fully participate in this study.

What if you want to stop being in this study, or if the researcher decides you should no longer participate?

If you decide you want to stop being in this study, be sure to contact the study team at projectrelate@uw.edu. 

If we discover that you are no longer appropriate for the study, we can choose to end your participation at any point. 

We want to make sure you have the tools necessary to be cared for outside of the research, so you will be provided with resources if your participation is ended. 

Other important information

Being in this study is voluntary. You may refuse to participate. You are also free to withdraw from this study at any time without penalty or loss of benefits. 

If you become concerned about your substance use, or experience discomfort as a result of participation, you can contact one of the research investigators listed to discuss this.

If we notice that something could be wrong based on your responses (dangerous amounts of alcohol or severe interpersonal violence), we may contact you via email or phone to follow up with you and provide referrals. We will not share this with anyone, including your partner.

We will pay you $30 for the baseline training and questionnaire and $5 for each daily survey. You will also earn an extra $20 for completing 80% or more of the daily surveys (at least 24 out of 30). All together that comes out to $200.

You and your partner will be paid completely separately so you will still get the full amount if you finish the surveys even if your partner chooses not to or if you break up during the study period.

If you miss two daily surveys in a row, we will try to contact you by text, phone, or email to check in.

If you are in relationships with multiple partners, please choose only one to complete the study with. 

What can you do if you want more information?

Talk to the study team. We are always happy to help if you have questions or concerns. You can email us at projectrelate@uw.edu. It is our responsibility to give you the information you need to make a decision and to give you time to think about whether or not you want to sign up. If you feel you have been harmed by participating, you can contact us about that too.

We have no plans to provide results directly to participants, but if you are interested you can contact us to ask for access to future papers that result from this study.

Talk to someone else. If you want to talk about the study with someone who is not part of the study team, talk about your rights as a research subject, or report any problems, contact the UW Human Subjects Division. 

Study Team Email: projectrelate@uw.edu

UW Human Subjects Division: 206.543.0098 | hsdinfo@uw.edu