WHAT IS SCAMP?
SCAMP is the Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones.
DID YOU KNOW?
1) 70% of 11-12 year olds in the UK now own a mobile phone, and 90% of 14 year olds own a mobile phone.
2) The use of tablets has tripled among children aged 5-15 years since 2012.
3) 12-15 year olds send on average 255 texts per week, and an estimated 184 instant messages.
4) Mobile phones are the most common devices for accessing social networking profiles, like Facebook.
5) Among children aged 8-11 years old, school work and homework are the most commonly- mentioned internet activities.
Reference: Ofcom report 2013
WHAT DOES TAKING PART IN SCAMP INVOLVE?
Taking part in the SCAMP study involves undertaking a computer assessment, measurement of your height and weight, and biosample collection.
- The computer assessment involves tasks about letters, numbers and shapes and questions about your mobile phone uses and lifestyle.
- Some of these tasks are like puzzles and others require you to remember things.
- Height and weight will be measured by SCAMP researchers or yourself and will not be visible to other people.
- Biosamples include a saliva sample and a urine sample.
WHAT QUESTIONS WILL I BE ASKED?
We ask you questions about:
- your use of mobile phones and other similar devices
- how you feel and behave
- things you do (e.g. sleeping, eating, sports, playing video games, watching TV, playing music)
- whether you get headaches
- your hearing
- how noisy it is where you live and how you feel about this
- how much you have grown recently
Some of these questions will be asked in the next round of assessment.
WHY DO I NEED TO BE ASKED THESE QUESTIONS?
You might think some questions are not related to your thinking abilities or using mobile phones, but they are all important. There are lots of things that can affect your thinking abilities e.g. how well you sleep, or changes in your body. We need to ask questions about these things so that we don’t get them mixed up with how using a mobile phone might affect your thinking abilities.
WHY DOES THE SCAMP STUDY NEED INFORMATION RECORDED...
… when I use my mobile phone?
We need to know about how much and how often you are using a mobile phone. We may use information from your mobile phone operator to check how your mobile phone use changes over time. We will never see information about the content of messages, websites visited or content downloaded on your phone. We will also never see information about the people you speak to or who you exchange messages with on your phone.
… by my doctor?
We need to know about any illnesses or treatments you may have had and we may check how your health is in the future.
… about my education?
We need to know how you have been doing at school. We may use information from your educational records to check how you progress in school in the future.
DO I HAVE TO TAKE PART IN THE SCAMP STUDY?
You can help the SCAMP team further by completing our consent and registration form.
What if I change my mind?
You can change your mind and stop taking part at any time and you don’t need to tell us why.
WHO WILL LOOK AT THE ANSWERS I GIVE OR INFORMATION COLLECTED ABOUT ME?
The SCAMP team will use your information to answer scientific questions. Your teachers or parents will not see the information that you give. In the future, we may share some information with other researchers so that they can answer other scientific questions, but we will never let them see information that would tell them who you are, i.e. your name and address.
WHAT IF I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE STUDY?
Send us an email…
scamp@imperial.ac.uk
Give us a call…
0800 007 5557
What if I have a problem or issue?
If you have any issues you would like to discuss with someone in confidence please talk to a parent, an adult you feel comfortable with, or contact Childline 0800 1111.
WILL INFORMATION ABOUT ME BE KEPT PRIVATE?
All information that is collected about you during the study is kept confidential (private).
If you want to know more about how your personal information will be processed in the study you can read our privacy notice.
Who will know about me being in the study?
Your parents and the study team, and anyone you choose to tell.
WHY SHOULD I HELP?
By taking part in this research you could help young people like you, now and in the future, to use technologies more safely. We hope you enjoy being involved in real-life science.
I WANT TO TAKE PART. WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW?
1. Complete the SCAMP school assessment with your classmates
2. Complete the consent and registration form.
