Relationships and Coping Study
This study is being conducted by Dr. Diane Holmberg at Acadia University. It examines the way that people cope, either alone or with the help of their partners, with daily life stressors. In order to be eligible, you must be in a relationship of at least 6 months in length (both heterosexual and same-sex relationships are welcome) and be at least 18 years of age. As data is collected in pairs, your partner MUST be available to participate. Since all data is collected online, long-distance partners are fine - you don't have to be physically together to take part.
Either you or your partner will be assigned to be Partner A; the other will be assigned to be Partner B. Both of you will complete a set of background, baseline questionnaires that should take approximately 30 minutes. These questionnaires should be completed individually, in a private, quiet place with no distractions. They will consist of questionnaires regarding your demographics, your relationship, your personality, and ways of coping. After this set of questionnaires, each evening from Monday to Friday for one week, both you and your partner will individually fill out a small online "diary" regarding stressors that Partner A experienced during the day, and how both of you coped with them. This diary will take about 10 minutes per day to complete. Your total time commitment for this study is therefore approximately 1-1/4 hours.
You will earn $15 each for completing the full study (i.e., completing the background questionnaire, plus at least 3 of the 5 daily diary entries, with the majority of questions completed on each).
Alternatively, students at Acadia University registered in Psyc 1013/1023 or 2013/2023 can receive two bonus points towards their course grade for completing the full study. For those in 2013/2023, an additional written assignment will be necessary to receive your bonus points - please check with your professor. Please note: Reimbursement will be awarded only for completing the full study. Also note that BOTH partners MUST participate, and you will not be allowed to proceed to the diary portion and complete the study unless your partner has also completed the background questionnaires. Therefore, do not begin this study unless you know your partner is willing to participate, too.