Couple CLASH
Conflict, Love, Attitudes, Stress and Hardships
Deakin University’s SoAR Lab and a team of international researchers are inviting same-sex and heterosexual couples to take part in this 12-month longitudinal study of romantic relationships.
Couple CLASH will track couples over time to identify why some couples thrive, and others clash.
What’s involved?
There are two options for participation in Couple CLASH.
Option 1: You and your partner both complete an online survey once every 3-months over a 12-month period. If you complete all 5 surveys, you will receive access to an online self-directed couple therapy program and a $60 gift voucher per couple.
Option 2: You and your partner both complete an online survey once every 3-months over a 12-month period, and take part in two sets of video-recorded discussion tasks. The video-recorded discussion tasks involve meeting a member of the research team either in-person (at Deakin University Burwood Campus) or online via Zoom to be recorded whilst engaging in a discussion task with your partner. If you complete all 5 surveys and at least one video-recorded discussion task, you will receive access to an online self-directed couple therapy program and a $100 gift voucher per couple.
What is Couple CLASH about?
This is a 12-month longitudinal study looking at a diverse set of factors that may influence the ways romantic partners interact with one another over time.
Why are we studying couple interactions?
The purpose of this study is to investigate how couples’ life experiences, stress, substance use, attitudes and personalities shape the way they behave in their romantic relationship. By tracking couples over time, we are hoping to uncover how these factors influence people’s behaviour in their relationships and what relationships are really like. Results of this study may help to inform the way government and other bodies make decisions and plan effective clinical interventions to support relationships in the future.
What is involved?
There are two arms (i.e., options for participation) to the Couple CLASH study.
Option 1:
The first option within the Couple CLASH study is for you and your partner to complete an online survey once every 3-months over a 12-month period. The surveys will ask you and your partner about aspects of your relationship, substance use, stress, conflict, attitudes and personality.
There are 5 surveys in total and each survey takes approximately 40 minutes to complete. Therefore, it is expected that your total time participating over a 12-month period would be approximately 3.5 hours.
In recognition of your time, at the completion of the study, couples will receive a $60 gift voucher, a relationship enrichment pack and access to an online self-directed couple therapy program.
Option 2:
In addition to completing the 5 surveys (as described in Option 1), couples who choose to participate in Option 2 of Couple CLASH will meet with members of the Couple CLASH research team and participate in a short discussion task that will be video-recorded at the start and the end of their participation in the study. Couples can choose to have this appointment either in-person at the SoAR Lab (located at Deakin University’s Melbourne Burwood campus) or online via Zoom.
It is expected that the total time involved in participating in this Option 2 of this study is about 5.5 hours over a 12-month period.
In recognition of your time, at the completion of the study, couples will receive a $100 gift voucher, a relationship enrichment pack and access to an online self-directed couple therapy program. For those attending on campus, you will also receive a voucher to reimburse you for your travel and parking expenses.
Meet the Couple CLASH team
Our Couple CLASH team consists of people who have been studying romantic relationships for over a decade. Our team brings a wide range of expertise to the Couple CLASH project.
Click here to learn more about the Couple CLASH team!
How to Participate
You and your partner must both be willing and able to participate in this study. You must be over the age of 18 and fluent in English. If you and your partner are interested in participating in Option 2 (completing the surveys and engaging in the video-recorded discussion tasks), you must be living in Australia .
If you decide you would like to register your interest to participate, please click the “Participate Now” button below to find out if you are eligible to take part in this study.
Also, please take some time to read the Participant Information Sheet. This document will tell you absolutely everything you need to know about this study. It is important that you and your partner read it carefully before deciding to take part in this study. You can access the Participant Information Sheet here. You are encouraged to download a copy for your personal record.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss any aspect of this study, please phone (03) 9244 5081 or email CoupleCLASH@deakin.edu.au to speak with a team member working on the Couple CLASH project.
