Toronto School of Management

THE MAIN REASONS OF LOWER CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL

BEVERAGES IN ONTARIO AGAINST PROVINCES WITH LESS POPULATION
Capstone Project Module - Submitted by Atalaha Riquetta

10/03/2021
Toronto
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................3

1.1. Consumption Aspects.....................................................................................................3

1.2. Regulation Aspects.........................................................................................................7

2. METHODOLOGY.........................................................................................................10

3. RESULTS......................................................................................................................12

4. DISCUSSION................................................................................................................19

5. CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................20

REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................22

APPENDIX A.......................................................................................................................24

APPENDIX B........................................................................................................................31

APPENDIX C........................................................................................................................34
1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Consumption Aspects

In Canada, the population has a history with alcohol since the 1600s when the
first settlers came to the country. At that time, alcoholic beverages were considered
significant to treat pain and fevers and nutritional aspects like portions of energy. In the
colony period and for the early years of the nineteenth century, mostly Canadian men
are recognized as heavier drinkers (Fahey & Miller, 2013).
However, the increase of people against drinking habits, blaming it for most of
the world's problems like poverty, crime, violence and diseases and known as the
temperance movement in the mid-19th century, made alcohol consumption drop
significantly in Canada (Fahey & Miller, 2013).
Following this trend, the Government imposed the Prohibition period. Through
the Canada Temperance Act (Scott Act) in 1878, the federal power left the provinces'
discretion to end the sale of alcoholic beverages. Starting at 1901, gradually, all regions
stopped sales domestically, allowing only the production and export of alcohol, but from
1920 the prohibition laws were cast aside (Hallowell, 2013).
In 1927, Ontario created a new sale and control system of alcoholic beverages
called LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario); nevertheless, after World War II, alcohol
consumption increased. One of the motives of this delay in alcohol market growth was
the significant economic depression in the USA, also felt by Canada from 1929 until 1939
(Fahey & Miller, 2013).
One of the most exciting facts was that since the mid-20 th century, smaller
provinces than Ontario like Yukon and Northwest regions drink more with less
population (Fahey & Miller, 2013). Even with the reduction of drinking among the years,
shown in Figure 1 (Li, 2017), influenced by health guidelines and all the movements
around the world to raise awareness of the problems that excessive alcoholic beverages

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can cause in a person's life, champion regions in consumption have not changed over
time.

Figure 1: Alcohol Consumption Per Capita in the last years. Reprinted from Alcohol Consumption
in Canada, by Susan Li, March 21 2017, retrieved from https://rpubs.com/susan_li/alcohol-
consumption-canada, Copyright 2017 by RPubs.

Two studies, one from 2013 and another one from 2015, released the same
data regarding the consumption of alcoholic beverages Per Capita in all Canadian
provinces (Elliot, 2019). Figure 2 demonstrates these numbers.

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 Figure 2: Consumption of alcohol Per Capita in each Canadian province for both
studies conducted in 2013 and 2015. Reprinted from These Are The Canadian
Provinces That Drink The Most Alcohol, by Teddy Elliot, April 24 2019, retrieved from
https://www.mtlblog.com/en-ca/news/these-are-the-canadian-provinces-that-drink-
the-most-alcohol, Copyright 2019 by MTLBlog.

Considering the economic feature in Figure 3, one research in 2017 presented how
much average money Canadians spent with drinks per year, also separated by province
(Elliot, 2019). It is possible to conclude that Quebec, with a population of 8,336,460,
spent more on alcohol besides drinking more than Ontario, with its population of
14,150,783 (Statistics Canada, 2017). This observation of a population's size is valid for
all regions that consume more alcohol than Ontario.

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 Figure 3: Average of money spent on alcohol per person for a year in each Canadian
province according to a 2017 study. Reprinted from These Are The Canadian
Provinces That Drink The Most Alcohol, by Teddy Elliot, April 24 2019, retrieved from
https://www.mtlblog.com/en-ca/news/these-are-the-canadian-provinces-that-drink-
the-most-alcohol, Copyright 2019 by MTLBlog.

Another piece of information from Statista and cited by Sandra li set out the
difference between gender regarding heavier drinking (Figure 4), confirming that more
women add the drink habit to their routine in all of Canada (Li, 2017). Another key point,
shown in Figure 5, is that regardless of whether the beer is the most consumed beverage
in the whole country, different provinces have their preferences. For instance, Quebec
sets its favouritism for wine, and Yukon purchases more spirits (Li, 2017).

Figure 4: Heavier drinkers differentiated by gender from 2001 to 2014. Reprinted from Alcohol
Consumption in Canada, by Susan Li, March 21 2017, retrieved from https://rpubs.com/
susan_li/alcohol-consumption-canada, Copyright 2017 by RPubs .

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 Figure 5: Alcohol Consumption Per Capita in the last years. Reprinted from Alcohol
Consumption in Canada, by Susan Li, March 21 2017, retrieved from
https://rpubs.com/susan_li/alcohol-consumption-canada, Copyright 2017 by RPubs.

Considering the analyses of all these differences in alcohol consumption and the
fact that the country's biggest province (Ontario) retail fewer alcoholic beverages than
smaller regions, this study aims to establish this discrepancy's main motive.

1.2.Regulation Aspects

In 1867, the Government established the country's new Constitution, merging

new terms with pieces of the British North America Act (B.N.A). The new Act
(Constitution) presented all the federal and provincial powers and rules. Although
alcohol sales, distribution and control policies were not explicitly mentioned, most
subject matters were designated as a province duty (Smart, 1984).
The provinces were responsible for determining ages allowed to drink, numbers
and types of stores for alcohol sales, the distribution system, categories and brands of
beverages, and sale hours. In contrast, the Federal Government took care of marketing,

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aspects of importation and some taxation (Smart, 1984). This format hasn't changed
even with the update of the Constitution in 1982.
It is essential to understand each province's retail format because this
mechanism can influence consumption and sales. The Canadian Press publicized in 2015
this information as follows below in Table 1.

BEER WINE SPIRITS

Government + Government +
British Columbia Government + private
private private
Government + 3 Government + 3
Saskatchewan Government + 3 private stores
private stores private stores
Alberta Private Private Private
Private + Private +
Quebec Government Government Private + Government outlets
outlets outlets
Government + Government +
Manitoba Government + private
private private
Government + Government +
Nova Scotia Government + some private
some private some private
Government +
New Brunswick Government Government
some stores
Newfoundland Government + Government +
Government + licensed stores
and Labrador licensed stores licensed stores
Prince Edward Government +
Government Government
Island private

Table 1: Retail system of alcoholic beverages in each province of Canada. How is alcohol sold across
Canada? By Canadian Press, April 16 2015, retrieved from https://www.canadiangrocer.com/top-
stories/how-is-alcohol-is-sold-across-canada-52368, Copyright 2015 by Canadian Grocer.

In Ontario, alcoholic beverages are sold by Government-owned LCBO stores,

private retailers, such as Beer Stores, authorized grocery locations and some
manufacturers' stores. Being the largest retailer in Canada, LCBO has 660 retail

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locations. Also, 280 LCBO Convenience Outlets are independent local sellers with
authorization to retail alcohol (Internal Trade Secretariat, 2020).
The Beer Store has 450 retail spaces and also sells beer to LCBO and licensed bars
and restaurants. About grocery stores, 450 offer beers and ciders, and 1/3 of this
number of stores also sell wine. Finally, Ontario has closely to 900 manufacturers' retail
stores to complete this group of alcohol vendors (Internal Trade Secretariat, 2020).
Nowadays, only Alberta has the alcohol retail system entirely privatize. Mark Milk
from Fraser Institute said that this privatization was significant for the province and
should be followed by other regions. In his deep research, he found that 83% of beer,
wine and spirits products were cheaper than some products sold in British Columbia.
Another critical point in his study is the comparison with Saskatchewan regarding the
problems related to havier drinkers. Mark said that even with lower sales, consumption
of alcoholic beverages and a non-private retail system, Saskatchewan has the highest
alcohol-related harm rates in people's lives (Milke, 2020).
The privatization is still under consideration by the Government of Ontario. The
advisor Ken Hughes believes that the LCBO will not be sold, but there is an interest in
separate roles between provincially owned liquor stores and private stores. Private
stores' participation in alcohol distribution could be advantageous for Ontario, like
already is to Quebec and British Columbia (Crawley, 2019).
Balancing sales with consumption, Table 2 below presented the last accounting
data from Statistics Canada of sales, profits and taxes in 2018/2019 from provinces with
more alcohol consumption than Ontario.
Net income
Federal
of liquor
excise tax
Deduct: authorities
Net sales Gross profit and
cost of and total
Geography (2018/2019 (2018/2019 customs
goods sold taxes and
) ) duties
(2018/2019) other
(2018/2019
revenue
)
(2018/2019)
Ontario 6,394,156 3,141,946 3,252,210 666,017 4,691,836
British
3,573,122 2,082,678 1,490,444 271,677 1,922,013
Columbia

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 Quebec 3,293,901 1,623,105 1,670,796 393,3 2,654,174

Alberta 2,595,067 1,708,299 886,768 233,962 1,224,145

Newfoundlan
d and 261,421 105,937 155,484 31,14 271,901
Labrador
Northwest
52,822 19,34 33,482 3,506 30,519
Territories
Yukon 40,038 21,413 18,625 3,326 19,949

Table 2: Net income of liquor authorities and government revenue from sale of alcoholic beverages (x
1,000). By Statistics Canada, 2018/2019, retrieved from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/
en/cv.action?pid=1010001201, Copyright 2021 by Statistics Canada.

2. METHODOLOGY

The researcher chose as a population (unit of analysis) the Ontario residents.

Through a convenience sampling and a snowball sampling approach, 70 persons
participated in this project, answering a questionnaire with 20 questions (theme-related
and demographic questions) on Google Forms taking less than 10 minutes to complete
it. In this sample, people with less than 19 years were excluded, considering the
province's minimum drinking age. The entire questionnaire is shown in APPENDIX A.
As it is very complicated to create a list with all Ontarians currently living in
Canada, and after that, define the participants by random sampling, the responders for
the survey were selected through social media (Facebook and WhatsApp's groups) and
by proximity, like friends, student colleagues and other people related to the
researchers or participants. Also, the time, the pandemic Coronavirus moment, and the
resources significantly influenced the approach chosen.
An Informed Consent containing the study's information and the participants'
rights was available at the end of the questionnaire and could be downloaded in

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addition to being read. Each participant had to accept the terms of the Informed
Consent in order to submit the responses. The entire term is provided APPENDIX B.
Bias on surveys represents the decrease in quality of results. It can result in
problems related to creating the questionnaire, sample selection and collected
information. Even taking some steps to reduce it, the risk of bias in this study happens
like in any other (Jovancic, 2020).
To avoid sampling bias, people of various cities in Ontario were invited through
Facebook to answer the questionnaire. Still, regarding nonresponse bias, a few more
Torontonians participated in the survey, which can be associated with convenience
sampling since Toronto is the researcher's residency place. Furthermore, all the
questions were analyzed a few times to avoid question order bias, which means not
influencing the answers with the survey questions' order.

The data was collected in 5 days and analyzed in 4 days with Microsoft Power
Bi. Charts were also produced in the same software. The participants wrote every
response shown in yellow on figures (charts). Then, the results were presented in this
study, together with the conclusions, and sent to the research participants who
requested to receive this project's outcomes. Some charts of results were disclosed only
in APPENDIX C.
No personal data has been released, and responses are presented without
addressing the person who responded. Also, it was possible not to answer questions
that could offer some discomfort to the participant. No one received any amount of
money or bonus, and not were they coerced into answering the questionnaire. No
person was chosen intentionally or discriminated against by the researcher.
Table 3 below shows the study schedule.

DATA
Secondary data collected and analyzed 01/18/2021 to 02/22/2021
Elaboration of the survey 02/03/2021 to 02/05/2021
Application of the survey (data collection) 02/16/2021 to 02/21/2021

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 Analysis of collected data 02/22/2021 to 02/26/2021
Elaboration of the Introduction and Methodology 03/01/2021 to 03/08/2020
Elaboration of the Results and Conclusion 03/09/2021 to 03/10/2021
Presentation of results to Capstone Project module 03/10/2021
Dispatch of the results to research participants 03/15/2021

Table 3: Schedule of the study. Own work.

3. RESULTS

Concerning the survey's personal questions, Figure 6 shown that from 70 people
who answered it, 50 (71%) are female, and two persons don't identify their genders as
female or male. The majority of the group has a family income above C$ 75,000 and
ages between 30 – 39 years old.

Figure 6: Total responses separated by gender, income and age. Own work.

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 Respondents from Hamilton, Cambridge, Oakville, Ottawa, Brantford, GTA,
Mississauga, Whitby, Brampton, Etobicoke, North Bay, Richmond Hill, St. Catharines and
Vaughan together represent 52% of the survey' participants against 48% from Toronto
(North York included). This data is in Figure 7.

Figure 7:Total responses by place of residency. Own work.

About the theme-related questions, 61 (87%) individuals consume alcoholic

beverages, and nine don't. The principal reasons for not consumption accordingly with
this nine-person were mainly focused on the taste and how alcohol is an unnecessary
expense (Figure 8).

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Figure 8: The main reasons for not consuming alcoholic beverages. Own work.

According to those who consume alcoholic beverages, 39 people drink at least a

few times per month, 18 a few times a year or less, and only one individual drinks at
least a glass every day. Figure 9 shown that most of the respondents prefer to consume
alcohol at celebrations, parties, weekends and going out with friends.

Figure 9: The main reasons for consuming alcoholic beverages. Own work.

What most motivates the participants to consume alcoholic beverages (Figure 10)
are, respectively, with 32, 25, 12 and 12 responses: "looking for fun","to feel the

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sensation of being drunk and enjoying", "culture", and "curiosity". An interesting factor
to be analyzed is that the options that represent alcohol consumption by pressure from
someone or own, mainly for acceptance by some group, were selected by nine people.
More than half of this study group looking for fun, joy or disinhibition when are
tasting a drink. Get drunk, company, and courage was also affirmatives chosen between
10 and 14 persons.

Figure 10: The main motivations for consuming alcoholic beverages. Own work.

About money spent on alcoholic drinks per week, 34 persons spent less than C$
10. However, this should be an understanding that these same individuals can purchase
C$ 40 per month. Also, 23 respondents spent between C$ 10 and C$ 20, representing up
to C$ 60 per month. Figure 11 displayed this information.

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 Figure 11: Quantity of money spent on alcoholic beverages per week. Own work.

Figure 12 presents the first drinks of preference. Beer and Wine capture much
more than half of the respondents.

Figure 12: Preferences of alcoholic beverages. Own work.

Some questions were made to identify a correlation enclosed by the actual

consumption with the Ontario retail format system. For instance, the participants
answered if they would buy more alcoholic beverages if available at grocery stores and

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supermarkets. Only 12 persons said "yes" to this question, and 14 considered it an
option (Figure 12).

Figure 13: Possibility of consumption increase if alcohol retail in any grocery

store and supermarket. Own work.
However, as presented in Figure 13, when asked about what could motivate them
to buy more alcohol, 24 persons answered the option of more stores selling alcoholic
beverages. The possibilities of more stores near their house, different prices, and higher
income were also selected for at least 20 individuals.
The price of alcoholic beverages was considered acceptable/ reasonable by most
participants (40). But 13 people think the price is high and nine people believe it is very
high.

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 Figure 14: Reasons to buy more alcoholic beverages. Own work.

Adding to the retail format, 30 respondents were not favouring privatization, 17

are in favour, and 23 are not sure about the topic choosing the option "maybe". The
majority also prefer a standard price system (28 persons) than different prices (19
persons).
In the same system that we are in now, people were asked about the best option
of retailing alcoholic beverages. The increase of LCBO stores or others allowed by the
Government was select by 21 respondents, the retail in every supermarket and grocery
store by 12 respondents and both options by 28 respondents (Figure 14).

Figure 15: The best option for the alcoholic beverage retail system in Ontario. Own work.

Finalizing the analyses, seven individuals confessed they had been hurt or hurt
someone because of alcohol consumption.

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4. DISCUSSION

One of the main points of this study is that since the mid-20 th century, provinces
more at north Canada consume more alcoholic beverages. Considering that some drinks
have a warm-up sensation, it is very logical thought that people drink more alcohol in
colder regions. Also, there is a remaining culture shown in history that men in hard work
tend higher alcohol consumption, for instance, Hunters, Woodcutters and Miners.
Ontario has a well equilibrate clime and is not known for these primary jobs.
Another interesting change is how women now make more part of the alcohol
consumption process. The survey itself has more women participating than men. Even
so, the number of drinkers was not low, confirming the data disclosed by Sandra Li
about female participation growth.
Although Ontario has fewer drinks per Capita than other provinces with less
population, examing the accounting data, sales and profit are higher in Ontario. This
information requires further study since it is a little confusing to have less consumption
with higher sales. It is necessary to understand all the factors surrounding these
numbers. The price of the products and the taxation are possible reasons for the current
alcohol retail accounting in the province, and how consumption is analyzed is a crucial
factor.

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 It would be alluring to extend the questionnaire to more people because most
respondents are satisfied with the current retail system in Ontario and were not
favouring privatization. Considering the intention of not consuming more than what is
already consumed and the system's satisfaction as it stands, these can be compelling
factors for why Ontario consumes less than provinces such as Quebec and Alberta.

5. CONCLUSION

This project was influenced by the desire to identify the main reasons why Ontario
consumes less alcohol than provinces with less population, such as Quebec, Alberta.
Previous studies have shown that since the last century, regions such as Yukon,
Northwestern Territories, Newfoundland & Labrador were already responsible for high
alcohol consumption rates.
As of the new Constitution, the provinces were responsible for establishing most
of the guidelines for the sale of alcoholic beverages, such as minimum age for drinking,
distribution of beverages, stores and sales hours. As the Prohibition period ended,
Ontario developed the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) institution that primarily
took over the sale and distribution of alcohol. Today the province also has a private Beer
Store chain and other retail stores authorized by the Government. The liquor chain's
privatization only happened in Alberta, but a different privatization format is still
considered in Ontario.
This study's questionnaire was answered by 70 people, between 20 and 50 years
old and mostly women. Almost 90% of the participants consume alcohol and do so most
times at celebrations, parties, meetings with friends and weekends. Much of it looks for
joy and fun when drinking. Besides, more than half of respondents are not in favour of

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privatization and are satisfied with the current prices of alcoholic beverages. Both
increasing the number of LCBO's or increasing access to alcohol in any supermarket or
grocery store are good options for 45% of respondents.
Wine and beer were the preferred drinks in the survey, and the participants mostly
drank a few times a month or even twice a week. As for spending, 54% do not pay more
than C$ 40 per month for alcoholic beverages. Cities like Hamilton, Cambridge, Oakville,
Ottawa, Brantford, GTA, Mississauga, Whitby, Brampton, Etobicoke, North Bay,
Richmond Hill, St. Catharines, Vaughan and Toronto

Factors such as the acceptance of the current alcohol sales format and the lack of
interest in consuming more or finding alcohol in any store may be the main reasons why
Ontario still consumes less than other regions. However, there is still a big hole to be
filled with more information in this theme, and many other studies should be carried out
in this area.

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REFERENCES

Canadian Press. (2015, April 16). How is alcohol sold across Canada? | Canadian Grocer.
Canadian Grocer. https://www.canadiangrocer.com/top-stories/how-is-alcohol-is-sold-
across-canada-52368

Crawley, M. (2019, May 19). Privatizing LCBO's distribution business is on the table, Ford
government adviser reveals. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/
ontario-beer-wine-convenience-corner-stores-lcbo-doug-ford-1.5137127

Elliot, T. (2019, April 24). These Are The Canadian Provinces That Drink The Most Alcohol.
MTL Blog. https://www.mtlblog.com/en-ca/news/these-are-the-canadian-provinces-
that-drink-the-most-alcohol

Fahey, D. M., & Miller, J. S. (2013). Alcohol and Drugs in North America [2 volumes]: A
Historical Encyclopedia (Revised ed.). ABC-CLIO.

Hallowell, G. (2013, August 12). Prohibition in Canada. The Canadian Encyclopedia.

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/prohibition

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Internal Trade Secretariat. (2020, January 10). Ontario Alcohol Laws. Alcohol Laws in
Canada. https://alcohollaws.ca/ontario/#a

Jovancic, N. (2020, September 24). 4 Types of Bias in Research and How to Make Your
Surveys Bias-Free. LeadQuizzes. https://www.leadquizzes.com/blog/types-of-bias-in-
research/

Li, S. (2017, March 21). RPubs - Alcohol Consumption in Canada. RPubs.

https://rpubs.com/susan_li/alcohol-consumption-canada

Milke, M. (2020, June 18). Success of Alberta's liquor store privatization a lesson for
other. Fraser Institute. https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/success-albertas-liquor-
store-privatization-lesson-other-provinces
Smart R.G. (1984) Alcohol Control Policy in Canada. In: Miller P.M., Nirenberg T.D. (eds)
Prevention of Alcohol Abuse. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-
4613-2657-1_6

Statistics Canada. (2021) Table 17-10-0009-01 Population estimates, quarterly. DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25318/1710000901eng
Statistics Canada. (2021) Table 10-10-0012-01 Net income of liquor authorities and
government revenue from sale of alcoholic beverages (x 1,000). DOI: https://doi.
org/10.25318/ 1010001201-eng.

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APPENDIX A

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APPENDIX B

INFORMED CONSENT

TITLE OF STUDY
THE MAIN REASONS OF LOWER CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL BEVERAGES IN ONTARIO
AGAINST PROVINCES WITH LESS POPULATION

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Atalaha Riquetta
Student at Toronto School of Management
22 College St, Toronto, ON M5G 1K2
(416) 800-2204
atalaha@gmail.com

PURPOSE OF STUDY

You are being asked to take part in a research study. Before you decide to participate in
this study, it is essential that you understand why the research is being done and what it
will involve. Please read the following information carefully. Please ask the researcher if
there is anything that is not clear or if you need more information.

The purpose of this study is to understand why, regarding some data about alcoholic
consumption in Canada released in 2018 on Statista's website, almost 15 million people
in Ontario drink less alcoholic beverages in volume than 8.5 million people in Quebec
and 4.4 million people in Alberta. Could the government restriction of retailing of
alcoholic beverages in Ontario be the main reason?

STUDY PROCEDURES

Primarily, the researcher will collect data from the Government and particular websites,
articles and dissertations about the consumption of alcoholic beverages in Canada,
mostly comparing the difference between population, government restrictions on
retailing of alcoholic beverages, costs, culture, and weather between the provinces.
Secondarily, a questionnaire will be given to voluntary participants. The responses will
be collected with a population (unit of analysis) of individuals residing in Ontario.
Through convenience sampling and a snowball sampling approach, at least 60 persons
are expected to participate in this research. For this sample, the researcher will exclude
people with less than 19 years and residing in other Provinces than Ontario. The
participants will be invited to answer the questionnaire through social media (Facebook

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and WhatsApp groups) and by proximity, like friends, student colleagues and other
people related to the researcher or participants. With all the information in hands, it will
be possible to analyze and present the principal factors for the volume consumptions of
alcoholic beverages in Ontario.

The amount of time to answer the survey is about 10 minutes at maximum, and you will
not be asked to do anything else in this study.

RISKS

If you feel uncomfortable with any question, you may decline to answer, or you may
terminate your involvement at any time if you choose. Concerning the research, from
the health area's point of view, lower consumption of alcoholic beverages in Ontario,
principally related to the government system of retailing, could influence other
provinces, with the privatized alcoholic beverages sector, to increase restrictions
barriers to reduce problems caused by addiction.

BENEFIT

There will be no direct benefit to you for your participation in this study. However, the
information obtained from this study may help the industry. If the main reason for lower
consumption in Ontario's province is government restrictions, it would be important to
ground these sales barriers with the sector's privatization. This privatization would
influence an increase in sales, profits, taxes and jobs for Ontario residents.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Your responses to this questionnaire will be anonymous. Your age is being requested
due to the minimum age allowed to drink in Ontario. Individuals with less than 19 years
old will not have their responses considered for the final analyses. The researcher will
make every effort to preserve your confidentiality, including the following:

 Assigning code names/numbers for participants that will be used on all research
notes and documents
 Not asking names or personal documents in the survey.

Participant data will be kept confidential except in cases where the researcher is legally
obligated to report specific incidents. These incidents include, but may not be limited to,
incidents of abuse and suicide risk.

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CONTACT INFORMATION

If you have questions at any time about this study, doubts regarding your rights as a
research participant, or if problems arise which you do not feel, you may contact the
researcher, whose contact information is provided on the first page

VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION

Your participation in this study is voluntary. It is up to you to decide whether or not to

take part in this study. If you choose to participate in this study, you will have to check
the box at the end of the questionnaire in Google Forms regarding your agreement with
this consent form. If you decide to withdraw from this research after submitting it,
please send an email to the researcher. Withdrawing from this study will not affect the
relationship you have, if any, with the researcher. If you withdraw from the study before
data collection is completed, your data will be returned to you or destroyed.

CONSENT

I have read and understood the provided information and have had the opportunity to
ask questions. I comprehend that my participation is voluntary and that I am free to
withdraw at any time, without giving a reason and without cost. I also know that I will
not receive any financial help for answering the survey. I voluntarily agree to take part in
this study.

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APPENDIX C

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