3.3 Dealing with distress
Any research interview can prompt thoughts, feelings or reflections which may be distressing. Sometimes you may be aware of likely distress because you are interviewing people about something that is upsetting, but on other occasions you may not anticipate that a topic is upsetting. As researchers we should always be prepared for the potential that our questions, or the telling of stories, can induce distress in our participants.
Activity 5
Read the example below and make notes about how you might respond if you were the interviewer.
You are interviewing Sophia about her experiences with contraception. Sophia tells you that she started taking the pill when she was about 16 years old to help manage her periods. She then swapped to the contraceptive implant. She has recently had her implant removed. You ask Sophia why she had her implant removed and she gets upset and starts to cry. She tells you that her long-term partner left her and that she feels very sad and down about it. Sophia is visibly crying.
How might you respond? Write a few thoughts down and then reveal our suggestions.
Answer
Ask if Sophia would like to take a break from the interview, reassure her that she can stop the interview at any time without giving a reason, ask Sophia if she needs anything like a drink or a tissue. After the conclusion of the interview, offer Sophia a debrief sheet with links to additional resources that she can access if she still feels very upset.
There are ways we can minimise the chances of distress. It is good practice to design the topic guide carefully, to minimise the potential for distress if we can. Giving participants information leaflets, consent forms, and the topic guide before the interview ensures they know what to expect and consent to it. It also prepares participants for the kinds of questions they’ll be asked and provides the opportunity to consider their responses. As such, having these materials before the interview reduces the risk of distress. It is also a good idea to consider how you would respond to a distressed interviewee before beginning your interviews and record this in a distress protocol.
If, despite your preparations, an interviewee does become upset, you need to know how to respond to them.
- If you observe any signs of upset in your participants, the first step is to acknowledge this. You can do so by saying things like ‘I can see that question upset you’ or ‘Is thinking about that difficult?’.
- Give them the option to take a break from the interview, or to stop altogether.
- If they would like to proceed, be led by them and give them time. Remind them that they are under no obligation to answer particular questions if they do not wish to do so (as per the consent form).
- If appropriate, you may wish to direct participants to the debrief sheet after the interview or email it to them again.
Some interviewees belong to groups that are deemed more vulnerable than others. For example, there may be safeguarding issues to consider when interviewing young people, especially those under 18 years old, or vulnerable people. You may need to seek further guidance from the safeguarding lead at your institution or place of work. For a more advanced understanding of ethics in research, including safeguarding, please see the OpenLearn course Becoming an ethical researcher: Session 3: 3.2 [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .
It is also important to remember that you, as a researcher, are consenting to the interview. If you feel uncomfortable or distressed during an interview you can draw the interview to a close.