Ensuring the emotional wellbeing of participants in violence-focused research is a paramount ethical requirement. While previous research suggests that most participants in violence-focused studies do not report harmful consequences, little is known about the experiences of adolescent participants in low- and middle-income countries. This study, conducted in Maharashtra, India, aims at assessing how participant, contextual, and interviewer characteristics affect the level of distress that adolescent girls experience after participation in a violence survey. A total of 3049 13–18-year-old girls were interviewed on their experiences of family and intimate partner violence. Following the interview, both girls and interviewers completed a 5-item questionnaire on perceived participant distress. Linear regression analyses were conducted to identify possible correlates of girls' distress. Less than 10 % of participants reported feelings of distress upon completion of the interview. Higher levels of interviewers' empathy were significantly associated with decreased levels of participants' distress (standardised beta: −0.25, < 0.001). Reported distress was also lower if girls had opted for an audio- and mobile-assisted self-interview (ACASI) format (standardised beta: −0.05, < 0.01) and if the interview was conducted by someone older (standardised beta: −0.22, < 0.001). Conversely, if interviews were conducted in participants' homes and by interviewers with higher education levels, reported distress was significantly higher (standardised beta: 0.06, < 0.01 and 0.12, < 0.001, respectively). Our findings suggest that incorporating empathetic interviewing and trust-building techniques into interviewer training, offering ACASI interviews, and choosing interview locations that ensure confidentiality can help protect the wellbeing of participants in violence research.

中文翻译：

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摆脱困境：印度马哈拉施特拉邦以暴力为重点的调查期间和之后影响少女福祉的因素

确保以暴力为重点的研究参与者的情感健康是一项至关重要的道德要求。虽然之前的研究表明，大多数以暴力为重点的研究参与者都没有报告有害后果，但人们对低收入和中等收入国家青少年参与者的经历知之甚少。这项研究在印度马哈拉施特拉邦进行，旨在评估参与者、背景和访谈者特征如何影响青春期女孩在参与暴力调查后经历的痛苦程度。共有 3049 名 13-18 岁女孩接受了采访，了解她们遭受家庭和亲密伴侣暴力的经历。采访结束后，女孩和采访者都完成了一份包含 5 个项目的调查问卷，内容涉及参与者感受到的痛苦。进行线性回归分析以确定女孩的痛苦可能存在的相关性。不到 10% 的参与者在访谈结束后表示感到痛苦。访调员的同理心水平越高，参与者的痛苦程度就越低（标准化贝塔值：-0.25，< 0.001）。如果女孩选择音频和移动辅助自我访谈（ACASI）形式（标准化贝塔：-0.05，< 0.01）并且访谈由年长的人进行（标准化贝塔：-0.22， < 0.001）。相反，如果访谈是在参与者家中进行且由受过高等教育的访谈员进行，则报告的痛苦程度明显更高（标准化贝塔值分别为 0.06、< 0.01 和 0.12、< 0.001）。我们的研究结果表明，将同理心访谈和建立信任技术纳入访谈员培训、提供 ACASI 访谈以及选择确保保密性的访谈地点有助于保护暴力研究参与者的福祉。