Department of Psychology

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

 

                                                                                                                                                                              

 

 

 

                        ** New! All participants will receive $25! **     

 

   

 

 

 

 

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Characteristics of Mothers Study

 

 

What is this study about?

 

You may have noticed in your daily life that some families have all male or all female children. We are interested in learning more about this phenomenon. Specifically, we would like to know whether or not certain individuals might be more likely to have male or female children, and what factors might influence this probability.

 

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the levels of certain hormones that you were exposed to, both prenatally (as you were developing in your motherŐs uterus) and throughout adult life (that you produce naturally in your own body), is related to the sex of a parentŐs offspring, their personality, and their cognitive ability.

 

 

Who can participate?

 

We are currently looking for participants! If you, or someone you know, are trying (or planning to try) to get pregnant in the next year, we need you!

 

Over the next year, we will be recruiting as many women who are trying to conceive as possible.

 

In order to participate, you must be:

á a resident of Canada or the USA

á pre-menopausal

á currently trying (or planning to try) to conceive (but not yet pregnant) with a known partner or donor

á not using any fertility drugs or other assistive technology to become pregnant

á not taking any hormonal contraceptives or other hormonal medications

 

 

What will I be asked to do?

 

This study is done ONLINE and will only take about 1-2 hours to complete.

 

If you choose to participate in this study, you will be asked to log on to our secure study website and complete a variety of questionnaires and activities. You will also be asked to provide a saliva sample (by mail), and to upload a scan of each of your hands and to provide a photograph of yourself.

 

 

What will my data be used for?

 

We will collect a saliva sample in order to measure your levels of Estrogen and Testosterone at the time of our study.

 

We will use your photographs in other studies from our laboratory, where we will show them to other participants and ask them in to make judgments about your physical and reproductive attributes. Neither your name nor any additional personal information will be associated with your photograph, or otherwise provided to anyone in any of these experiments. Your photographs will NOT be published or otherwise distributed to any third parties. You will be asked to sign a separate release form providing consent for our use of these photographs.

 

We will take a hand scan so that we can measure both the length of your index finger and your ring finger and compare them. This will give us an idea of what your hormonal environment was like prenatally.

 

**ALL SAMPLES AND INFORMATION COLLECTED WILL BE KEPT STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL AND USED ONLY FOR THE PURPOSE OF OUR STUDY.**

 

 

How can I participate?

 

All you have to do is contact us to see if youŐre eligible!

 

Email: neuro@sfu.ca