B. Telephone Pre-Screening Interview and Script

Appendix B

Telephone Pre-Screening Interview and Script

Telephone Pre-Screening Interview Script and Questions

After a prospective participant makes contact with me expressing interest in participating, I will call them to conduct a brief telephone pre-screening interview. The purpose of this interview is to ensure that potential participants meet study and eligibility guidelines and criteria. The script below is the verbatim language that will be used on this call:

“Hello, my name is Huey Hawkins, and I am a doctoral student at the Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago. I am working on the final part of the degree, the dissertation research project. My research will explore maternal message of endangerment for Black men. Overall, I am interested in how these messages influence his life. So, the research would involve talking to you and your mother.

Based on what you have heard so far, does this study sound like something you would be interested in?

[If answered no]

I understand and appreciate your time. Thank you and goodbye.

[If answered yes]

Great and thank you!

Before we move forward, there are a few things I need to confirm about your eligibility for this study. This information is just for me and your answers will not be shared with anyone else. Also, some of these questions may be sensitive in nature, so please forgive me in advance if it feels that way.

1. Are you an adult over the age of 21?

2. Do you identify as Black or African-American?

3. Are you willing to ask your mother to participate in the study?

4. Do you agree to be interviewed multiple times and audio-taped each time?

This study would include two to three two-hour interviews with each person, so I can get a thorough understanding of their experiences. The things I will be asking mothers about are (1) her son’s life from childhood to the present; (2) how it was raising him— personal experiences; and (3) things going on in the community that may have affected him.

For Black men, I will be asking about (1) his experiences of being raised by his mother; (2) his feelings of being endangered in his community; (3) his experiences as a Black man interacting with others in the community, such as law enforcement officer and

authority figures; and (4) messages he remembers receiving from his mother about his safety and/or well-being as a Black man.

Based on what you have heard so far, is there anything about this study you feel would make you uncomfortable, emotionally vulnerable, or traumatized?

Do you feel you would be able to reflect on your experiences as a Black man/mother to a Black male?

Great, you seem to meet the criteria for participation. The next step is to schedule a meeting to review the informed consent process in detail and begin the interviews.