ABSTRACT
Generally, studies have revealed that only a minority of people are bothered by participation in research on traumatic stress. Severity of traumatic events and subsequent responses are typically unrelated to negative reactions. We included 386 family members and caregivers (respondents) of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (focus people). Focus people (ages 4-82) had a wide range of physical and intellectual disabilities, medical and behavioral problems, and exposure to potentially traumatic events. The measures of impact of research participation (based on J. I. Ruzek & D. F. Zatzick's [2000] Reactions to Research Participation Questionnaire [RRPQ]; S. Folkman and R. S. Lazarus's [1986 , 1988 ] Emotional Responses to Participation Scale) showed good psychometric properties. Response to participation was highly skewed toward good understanding of informed consent, valuing participation, and minimal negative reactions. Number of traumatic events was related, positively, to only one RRPQ subscale: Valuing Participation. Implications for research and clinical work are discussed.
Subject(s)
Biomedical Research , Caregivers/psychology , Developmental Disabilities/psychology , Intellectual Disability/psychology , Life Change Events , Parents/psychology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Biomedical Research/ethics , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Stress, Psychological/etiology , Stress, Psychological/psychology , Surveys and Questionnaires , Young AdultABSTRACT
With the advent and widespread use of the Internet, various online media are being used to connect and maintain social relationships in individuals of all ages. Social relationships are vital to healthy development, and individuals with social and/or dating anxiety may have marked difficulty in establishing appropriate, supportive relationships because of fear of negative evaluation by others. For these individuals, the Internet may open avenues of communication and provide an outlet through which relationships can be formed and preserved. This study investigated the characteristics of computer and Internet use in young adults to determine whether individuals who were high in social/dating anxiety symptoms were more likely to make and maintain social relationships online. To further understand the patterns of these behaviors, several measures of social and dating anxiety were collected and analyzed along with demographic, computer use, and relationship characteristics. Results indicated differences between high and low social/dating anxiety with respect to media use and relationship formation. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
