PROCEDURES

This research will involve a questionnaire and 15 salivary cortisol samples collected over the course of three typical days. It also involves collecting some blood drops. A research assistant will go to the participant’s home to administer part of a questionnaire on goal management, well- being and health, explain the saliva collection procedure, and collect the blood drops. The rest of the questionnaire will be filled in by the participant while alone and should take approximately one hour to complete. The saliva collection will involve chewing a provided cotton swab for one minute before placing it in its salivette. The saliva collection will be performed five times a day at specific times. The participant will receive phone calls from the research assistant to remind him/her to take a salivary cortisol sample. The blood drops will be collected by the trained research assistant using a finger-prick with a small lancet. The participant will receive $70 for participating in the study.

There should be no risks or discomfort involved in answering the questions or collecting the salivary cortisol samples. Collection of the blood drops should also involve no risk and should not be painful. The participant’s name will not be attached to the questionnaire, although the signatures and names on the consent forms will be collected and stored separately by the supervising professor. The participant is free to refuse to participate in any portion of the study or to answer any question that makes him or her uncomfortable.

109 C. CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION

• I understand that I am free to withdraw my consent and discontinue my participation at anytime without negative consequences. Even if I discontinue my participation, I will receive $70. • I understand that my participation in this study is CONFIDENTIAL (i.e., the researcher will know, but will not disclose my identity)

• I understand that the data from this study might be published.

I HAVE CAREFULLY STUDIED THE ABOVE AND UNDERSTAND THIS AGREEMENT. I FREELY CONSENT AND VOLUNTARILY AGREE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS STUDY.

NAME (please print) ___________________________________________________________

SIGNATURE _________________________________________________________________

110 INFORMATION AND CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN A RESEARCH STUDY

Study Title: Writing, Aging and Health Study

Researcher: Sarah Liu, PhD student in Clinical Psychology

Researcher’s Contact Information: SP 315- 7141 Sherbrooke St W., Montreal, H4B 1R6;

[email protected]; (514) 848 -2424 ext. 2236

Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Carsten Wrosch, Professor Department of Psychology

Faculty Supervisor’s Contact Information: PY170-11 – 7141 Sherbrooke St. W., Montreal, H4B 1R6; [email protected]; (514) 848 – 2424 ext. 2231

Source of funding for the study: CURC – Concordia University

You are being invited to participate in the research study mentioned above. This form provides information about what participating would mean. Please read it carefully before deciding if you want to participate or not. If there is anything you do not understand, or if you want more

information, please contact Sarah Liu the study researcher.

A. PURPOSE

The purpose of the research is to investigate the association between expressive writing and physical health in adulthood. Specifically, we are interested in determining if expressive writing would affect an individuals’ biological response to stressful situations.

B. PROCEDURES

If you participate, you will be asked to attend two scheduled laboratory sessions (one day apart) at the Personality, Aging and Health laboratory on the Loyola campus at Concordia University, and complete 20-minute writing exercises over three consecutive days.

At the first laboratory visit, you will be asked to complete questionnaires, where you will be asked about demographic information, what you think about yourself, emotions and attitudes. This questionnaire will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. Subsequently, you will be asked to complete your first 20-minute writing exercise that involves writing about yourself. Following the lab visit, you will be asked to complete your second and third 20-minute writing exercises at home prior to your second laboratory visit.

The second laboratory visit will be scheduled one day after the first visit. At the second visit, you will be asked to complete questionnaires (approximately 30 minutes) similar to ones completed at the first visit. Following the questionnaires, you will be asked to complete a stress task that is meant to elicit a biological response to stressful circumstances. As such, you will also be asked to complete saliva samples throughout and after completing the stress task. Saliva samples involve chewing a provided cotton swab for one minute before placing it in its plastic container. The stress task will take approximately 1 hour to complete.

In total, participating in this study will take approximately 3 hours. C. RISKS AND BENEFITS

111 You might face certain risks by participating in this research. Since you will be asked to provide information regarding your emotions and attitudes, there is a possibility these questions may cause slight discomfort. There is also the possibility of experiencing negative emotions resulting from the stress task. However, the stress task administered in the study is not meant to elicit stress greater than what you would be exposed to in your daily life. If these tasks have caused sufficient distress that you wish to speak to a mental health professional, the researcher will provide a list of mental health professional resources for you to contact.

You might or might not personally benefit from participating in this research. Potential benefits include: insight into how you think about yourself or your daily life.