STUDY PURPOSE - This page describes a research study that Dr. Ronald D. Rogge, principal investigator from the University of Rochester, is conducting to examine how conscious and subconscious attitudes about one's self and one's partner impact the quality of relationships over time .

STUDY PROCEDURE
	Initial Survey: The study involves an online survey that will take approximately 35-40 minutes. The survey contains some personal questions about you, your household, your income and your relationship with your partner/spouse. We would like you to complete the whole survey, but you may skip any questions that you don't feel comfortable answering. At the end of the initial survey you will be given individual feedback on your personality and your attitudes toward yourself and your relationship.
	Short Follow-up Surveys: At the end of the initial survey you will be offered the chance to participate in short follow-up surveys. These surveys are completely optional, take about 10-15 minutes to complete and would be completed 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 and 24 months from today's date. For each follow up assessment completed, you will be given a chance of winning $100 in a cash drawing.

CONFIDENTIALITY
	Initial Survey: For participants completing only the initial survey , responses will be kept in an anonymous manner. This means that there is no way for your identity to be linked to your responses. The responses of all participants will be stored numerically and only the investigators on the study will have access to that data. Only summarized data will be presented at meetings or in any publications.
	Follow-up Surveys: To participate in the optional follow-up surveys, respondents will need to provide an email address. This is the only identifying information that will be collected in the study and it will be used to send the follow-up surveys to participants and to link their data from the initial as well as follow-up surveys. If respondents choose to share their email addresses, that information will be kept in a strictly confidential manner. It will not be shared with third parties and only investigators on the study will have access to that data.
	Partner Participation: At the end of the survey, you will be given an opportunity to share your partner's email address so that we may invite him or her to participate in the study as well. This is entirely optional for both you and your partner. Although the data from known romantic partners participating in the survey will be linked via a couple ID number in our final data set, none of your responses would ever be shared with your partner or vice versa.

RISKS - If you participate, there is a risk that you might experience some discomfort from answering questions about your relationship. You may choose not to answer any question at any time. This study involves no more then minimal risk to you.

BENEFITS - There are no direct benefits to you for participating in this study. However, some couples tend to find that taking time out to answer questions about their marriages can heighten their awareness of themselves and their relationships.

PAYMENT - Respondents completing the follow-up assessments will have a chance of winning a $100 cash drawing at the end of the study.

VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION - Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. You are free not to participate or withdraw at any time, for whatever reason without penalty or loss of benefit to which you are entitled. Your answers will be kept strictly confidential.

For more information about this research or if you feel that your participation has resulted in any emotional or physical discomfort you should contact: Ronald D. Rogge at:

If you have any questions about your rights as a research subject, you may contact: The Human Subjects Protection Specialist at the University of Rochester Research Subjects Review Board, Telephone: 011-585-276-0005. You may also call toll-free at 011-877-449-4441. You may also call this number if you cannot reach the research staff or wish to talk to someone else .

If you are interested in participating in the survey, simply begin answering the questions below. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Ronald D. Rogge, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
University of Rochester