Thank you for your interest in this study.

About this Study: Kate Gunn is conducting this research as part of an Honours degree within the School of Psychology at the University of Adelaide.

The project aims to:

• Identify the stressors that South Australian farmers currently face, to facilitate better understanding of farmers in the wider community
• Determine the types of coping strategies that farmers most commonly use to deal with farm related stress
• Inform the farming community of constructive ways of coping with difficult times, based on the experiences of their peers
• Identify the demographic groups within the South Australian farming community who are most in need of help with coping
• Examine the relationships between psychological distress, coping styles, personality attributes, levels of social support, perceived control over stress, optimism, age group, gender, marital status, farm type and levels of remoteness

Participation: If you are over 18 years of age AND you or your spouse currently own and take an active role in operating a farming or pastoral enterprise in South Australia, your participation in this study would be greatly appreciated.

Participation involves the completion of an online questionnaire which will take approximately 30 minutes. If you choose to take part but change your mind once you have started, you can stop at any time. In order to participate you are not required to provide your name and you will not be identified in any way. You may provide your email address if you would like to receive a summary of the study's findings in mid December 2008. Your email address will be kept strictly confidential. Results will also be made available online through the websites of the Psychology School www.psychology.adelaide.edu.au/expts/farmers2.html and the South Australian Farmers' Federation www.saff.com.au or may be obtained by phoning or emailing Kate in December.

• Rural and Remote Mental Health Service: 13 14 65 (cost of local call) for emergency mental health information and assistance

• Lifeline: 13 11 14 (cost of local call) for access to trained counsellors, 24 hours per day

• Drought Link Hotline: 180 20 20 (free call) for information on how to obtain financial assistance

Ethics of Study: This project has been granted ethics approval from the School of Psychology's Ethics Committee at the University of Adelaide. However, if you have any concerns or questions about this study, please contact Honours student Kate Gunn (0417852537 or kate.gunn@student.adelaide.edu.au), project supervisors Professor Deborah Turnbull (83035662), Dr. Lisa Kettler (8303 5737) or chair of the Psychology Research Ethics Committee, Dr. Paul Delfabbro (83034936).

Consent: I acknowledge that I have read and understood the information provided above.

I understand that:

• I am free to withdraw from the project at any time.
• No identifying information will be collected other than my email address if I choose to be informed about the results of the study.
• It is not expected that there will be any adverse effects of participation in this research but information has been provided to me above on where to seek further support should any issues arise.

If you agree to these terms and wish to participate in this survey please press the 'Agree' button.