Title of the study:

Neurodiversity and Sexual Attraction

Principal Investigator: Kailey Roche
Affiliation: School of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa
Email: kroch047@uottawa.ca                             

Supervisor: Dr. Martin L. Lalumière
Affiliation: School of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa
Email: martin.lalumiere@uottawa.ca

Collaborator: Emma Cyr                               
Affiliation: School of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa            
Email: ecyr063@uottawa.ca                 

Collaborator: Dr. Michael C. Seto
Affiliation: Forensic Research Unit, Royal Ottawa Health Care Group
Email: Michael.seto@theroyal.ca

Funding provided by: Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) Student Research Grant & Internal Grant.

Invitation to Participate: You are invited to participate in the above-mentioned research study conducted by Kailey Roche, the Principal Investigator, under the supervision of Dr. Martin Lalumière. This study is being conducted as a wider study on neurodiversity and sexual attraction. Emma Cyr and Dr. Michael Seto are collaborators of the project.

Purpose of the Study: The purpose of the study is to better understand the potential association between neurodiversity (e.g., Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder) and a variety of different sexual attractions, including atypical sexual attractions.

Participation: To participate, you must be at least 18 years old and living in Canada. As the survey is available in either English or French, you should also be confident in your ability to understand English or French. You do not need to have a diagnosis of ADHD or ASD to participate in this study. The survey will take between 10 and 15 minutes of your time.

You may enter for the chance to win 1 of 5 Visa gift cards valued at 25 CAD.

Please be aware that we will be asking you several questions that some may find sensitive or personal. You will first be asked a series of biographic questions, followed by questions about neurodiversity. Lastly, you will be asked about a variety of sexual attractions people may experience. For example, we will be asking participants if they are sexually attracted to many different activities and age ranges such as being attracted to children or elderly persons. You will be asked to move a slider to indicate how sexually attracted you are to several things. You may choose not to respond to any item, if you wish.

Risks: Risks for participating in this survey are mild. We recognize that questions about sexual attractions can be a sensitive subject. Therefore, we include a list of mental health services available in Canada here, as well as in the debriefing form at the end of the survey. Further, you will also be allowed to skip questions that you do not wish to answer.

If you are experiencing negative emotions related to this survey, we recommend reaching out to a mental health professional. You can locate mental health services in your area through the Government of Canada Mental Health Services:

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/mental-health-services.html

If you are experiencing a mental health crisis that requires immediate attention, we recommend calling the 988 crisis helpline:

https://988.ca/

Benefits: Participation in this study may provide a sense of personal meaning for contributing to this line of research. These results will provide a better understanding of neurodivergence and sexual attraction.

Confidentiality and Privacy: This study is confidential and anonymous. No information that discloses your identity will be collected. If you would like to withdraw from the survey, you must select the “Leave and delete data” button presented on each page of the survey. We will not be able to remove your data otherwise as there is no way to connect you to your data. 

If you opt to participate in the gift-card draw, your email will be collected separately from the data to maintain anonymity (i.e., you will be redirected to a new page at the end of the study). Your email will not be connected to any of your data. The draw will occur within one month of data collection completion. After the winners have been contacted and received compensation, all emails will be destroyed.

Your privacy is protected by the server at www.soscisurvey.de (no storage of IP addresses; use of SSL encryption with a signed certificate; server is secured against unauthorized access according to common standards; access to the server is SSH-encrypted; the questionnaires do not use any cookies). The data you provide is securely held on a server in Germany. There is very little risk associated with storing data in an outside server in Germany and it is protected by the highest level of encryption available (TLS 1.2). In fact, “in an international comparison, Germany offers a very high level of data protection - both with regard to the obligations of companies as well as with regard to governmental/agency access and interference” (seehttps://www.soscisurvey.de/en/privacy). Further, the data are subject to legal regulations such as the Federal Data Protection Act, and the EU General Data Protection Regulation.

Since this survey contains sensitive and personal questions, we encourage you to complete the study in a quiet area and private area where you will not be interrupted. Further, we recommend that you complete the survey using an incognito browser or delete their browser history when completed.

Conservation of Data: After data collection has been completed, the data will be downloaded and converted to a password-protected dataset. This dataset will be kept on password-protected computers owned by Kailey Roche and Emma Cyr. Subsequently, the data will be deleted from the SoSci server. Data will be kept indefinitely.

Data will be maintained for use in future secondary data analysis and to comply with open science practices.

After data analysis, collective results may be published and/or presented at conferences.

Compensation:

You may enter for the chance to win 1 of 5 Visa gift cards valued at 25.00 CAD. The draw will occur within one month of the end of data collection.

You must complete the survey to be eligible for the draw; HOWEVER, you may select “Prefer not to respond” on any of the questions.

To participate in the draw, you must select the “I would like to enter the draw” link on the debriefing form.This link will take you to a separate page where you will enter your email. Emails cannot be cross-referenced with data. Emails will be deleted immediately after the winners are selected and contacted.

Voluntary Participation: You are under no obligation to participate. You can withdraw from the study at any time and/or refuse to answer any questions without any negative consequences. You can choose to end your participation in this research at any time without having to provide a reason. To withdraw from participation, just click on the “Leave survey and delete data” button that is present on each survey page. You will not be able to enter the draw if you choose to withdraw.  

As responses are anonymous, we will not be able to remove your responses from consideration if you do not click this button.

If you have any questions about the study, you may contact the Principal Investigator, Kailey Roche, or her supervisor, Dr. Martin Lalumière. If you have any questions regarding the ethical conduct of this study, you may contact the Office of Research Ethics and Integrity via email (ethics@uottawa.ca) or telephone (613-562-5800 ext. 5387).

It is recommended that you save a copy of this consent form for your records.