Debriefing Document

Thank you for completing our questionnaire!

Through this study, we are attempting to learn more about how individuals share and experience affection within romantic relationships. We are also curious to learn what how individuals in different types of relationships may experience affection differently, especially as a function of context. For example, very little research has explored public displays of affection and even less has explored how such experiences may differ for those in same-sex versus mixed-sex relationships. Through the current study, and a future follow-up study, we hope to bridge this gap in the research and determine how various experiences of affection sharing in public and in private are associated with important dimensions of well-being, including relational, mental and physical well-being.

If you visit the prize draw link and enter your email address, we will enter you into a series of prize draws, for a gift card worth $50 Canadian each month. We will leave your email address in our records, and you will also be entered into all subsequent prize draws. We will be repeating the $50 prize draw every month, while this study is still running. Remember, all emails will be kept confidential, and will only be used for the purposes specified. If you also agreed to invite your partner to participate, then you’ll also be entered into a prize draw for $500.

The next project in our line of research is a follow-up daily diary study, which will collect more detailed information about affection sharing practices. Furthermore, we intend to conduct a follow-up interview study in the near future regarding affection sharing practices in romantic relationships. We hope you will be willing to participate in either follow-up study if you are contacted. There will be payment or prize draws associated with each study. Of course, you are free to say yes or no to any study when the time comes.

It is possible that while completing this survey you may have recalled painful or upsetting memories. If you feel the need to talk about your reactions to this survey, we have provided a list of resources below.

If you wish to withdraw your data, you must do so within a week of completing the survey. Please send an email to kblair@stfx.ca and include this code in your email in order to identify your survey response:

Thank you again for your time. If you have any additional questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at:

Co-investigator, Dr. Diane Holmberg
diane.holmberg@acadiau.ca Acadia University

Co-investigator, Dr. Karen Blair
kblair@stfx.ca St. Francis Xavier University

Student Researcher, Odessa McKenna

x2015kmk@stfx.ca St. Francis Xavier University

Student Researcher, Chelsea Hudson
chelseahudson@acadiau.ca Acadia University

Affection Sharing Practices in Romantic Relationships