Women worldwide bear a disproportionate burden of violence, leading to physical, psychological, and social repercussions. Understanding and combatting violence against women necessitates rigorous studies. However, scientific surveys on experiences of violence can bring back past traumas and put study participants in stressful situations again. Therefore, considering the emotional wellbeing of the participants is particularly important.
While most participants in previous violence studies report no harmful effects after the surveys, the effects on teenage girls in low- and middle-income countries remains largely unexplored. This is where the study by Prof. Janina Steinert and her PhD student Shruti Shukla from the Professorship of Global Health comes in: They surveyed more than 3000 young women aged 13 to 18 from Maharashtra, India, and examined characteristics of the study conductors to investigate how characteristics of the interviewers, location and type of interview, as well as characteristics of the participants themselves, influenced their well-being during and after the survey.
The result: While most participants reported positive experiences, a significant portion encountered challenges during the survey. One-third felt triggered by distressing memories, and one-fourth experienced post-interview exhaustion. These findings echo similar studies worldwide, underscoring the spectrum of emotional responses post-survey.
Furthermore, the study identified the pivotal role of interviewer empathy in alleviating participant distress. Interviews conducted by older individuals correlated with reduced stress, likely because they were perceived more as caregivers. Conversely, participants felt more stress when interviewed by individuals with higher educational backgrounds, possibly due to perceived power imbalance.
Moreover, the location and style of the interview emerged as a significant factor affecting participant wellbeing: Audio and mobile-assisted self-interviews alleviated participant burden, while interviews conducted in participants' homes – and thus in close proximity to potential perpetrators – heightened stress levels.
Armed with insights into factors influencing participant wellbeing, researchers can adapt interview settings to the participants’ needs, for example by selecting locations and interviewers. This approach not only enhances the ethicality of violence research but also fosters trust among participants.