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Authors
Combs, Aidan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1955-3572
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Article History
Received: 19 September 2024
Accepted: 18 December 2025
First Online: 15 January 2026
Competing interests
: The author declares no competing interests.
: Data collection was approved by the Duke University Institutional Review Board. The DiscussIt study was conducted under protocol #2019-0236, approved on November 30, 2018. The UniteDem study was conducted under protocol #2020-0326, approved on January 31, 2020. Ethical approval was obtained prior to the beginning of the studies. All procedures involving human subjects complied with relevant institutional and national ethics guidelines and regulations.
: All participants provided written informed consent prior to participation. The studies did not involve vulnerable individuals or minors under 18 years of age. Electronic consent was obtained between January 24, 2020 and February 27, 2020 for participants in the DiscussIt study and between February 28, 2020 and March 3, 2020 for participants in the UniteDem study. As the DiscussIt study involved three ostensibly-unrelated components—a pre-survey, a conversation on a mobile app, and a post-survey—they provided informed consent to each part separately, immediately before completing it. Participants received information regarding the study’s purpose, procedures, expected duration, compensation, and data handling practices. They were informed that participation was voluntary, that they could withdraw at any time without penalty, and that all data would be non-identifiable, ensuring anonymity. Participants provided their consent by clicking “Yes” in response to the statement “I am at least 18 years of age, and desire of my own free will to participate in this study,” which appeared at the bottom of the first page of the study instructions. Contact information for the researchers was provided to address any questions or concerns. Both studies involved deception in the form of the omission of certain information regarding study purposes and procedures. Participants were fully informed about the nature and purpose of the deception following the conclusion of the studies.
