Study on Psychopath Survivors
Sam Vaknin author of "Malignant Self-love"
My name is Courtney Humeny, I am a PhD candidate in Cognitive Science at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. I am writing you today to inquiry about the possibility of recruiting participants for my dissertation research from your domestic abuse support website.
My research is carried out under the supervision of Dr. John Logan (john_...@carleton.ca), and investigates the outcome of being in a romantic abusive relationship. Particularly we are looking for adults (over age 18) who identify as having been in a prior heterosexual abusive relationship with a partner who displays narcissistic or psychopathic characteristics. A person who possesses such characteristics often has many shallow relationships, lacks empathy, lies pathologically, is superficially charming, and fails to take responsibility for their actions.
This study has been approved by the Carleton University Research Ethics Board-A (CUREB-A) (103670), who can be contacted at 613-520-2517 or eth...@carleton.ca.
My research is anticipated to help bring understanding to the interpersonal and emotional consequences of domestic abuse. Due to the limited research on survivors of a romantic relationship with abusers who display psychopathic or narcissistic characteristics, these findings will inform further understanding of this population, which include advancing knowledge of the relationship between emotional functioning and interpersonal relations. Because the characteristics of individuals with psychopathic characteristics increase the likelihood of involvement with the criminal justice system these findings may also be useful legally, especially during interpretations of Victim Impact Statements and to victim support workers and Crown attorneys, who could use insight from this research to develop better modes of working with these types of victims and help increase their ability to participate efficiently in the court process (i.e., testifying against their abuser). Discovering avenues to mitigate the difficulties resulting from victimization is essential, not only for individuals’ well-being, but also to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of health services to this group.
I am emailing you as the owner or administrator of an online support website for survivors of domestic abuse to request permission to have a link to the current study entitled “Emotion, resilience, and post-traumatic growth in domestic abuse survivors” on you website between the dates of March 7 to May 31st 2016.
What participation entails:
Briefly I will overview what participation in the study entail. I have attached a copy of the Informed Consent to this letter where you can gather more information on the purpose of the study, potential risks, confidentiality, and study procedure. I have also attached a copy of the Recruitment Announcement that can be posted on your website if you do feel it is suitable to recruit participants on your domestic abuse support website.
The study will take approximately 1.5 hours and will consist of self-report questionnaires and two behavioural tasks.
Participation will involve going to a secure data collection website (www.cuaftermath.com). Participants are required to create a secure, password-protected account where they use an alias name. Participants will not be required to provide any information that would allow them to be identified (i.e., name, address).
On the website, participants are asked to complete a few questionnaires, a card game where you will select decks to gain as many points as possible, and a task where you will be presented a series of images of faces and asked what emotion they are expressing. The questionnaires will include questions on experiences of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress, and social interactions (e.g., assessing access to social support). There will also be questions addressing traits of the abuser (e.g., involvement criminal activity) and experiences of the abusive relationship (e.g., onset, type, severity, and length of abuse).
Please email me at Courtne...@carleton.ca if there are any questions or concerns about my study. You may also contact my thesis supervisor at john_...@carleton.ca
Thank you,
Courtney Humeny