Have you ever felt your D/s, M/s, or other power exchange relationship was misunderstood?
Do you ever grow weary of having to justify or explain your power exchange relationship? Do people assume that you are somehow a bad person for enjoying these relationships?
Because these misunderstandings often lead to discrimination, we are seeking to address these misunderstandings by conducting an in-depth study of a diverse array of power exchange relationships, which we are calling authority transfer relationships.
Are you kinky and in a power-exchange relationship that has lasted 2 or more years? If so, we would love to learn from your experience!
About This Study
The experiences of dominance and submission come in many different types of relationships, such as master-slave, dominant-submissive, pup-handler, and big-little to name just a few. These power-exchange relationships are often misunderstood and often mischaracterized. We are conducting an exploratory study to contribute to a better understanding of these relationships.
Key Information
The following is a concise and focused presentation of key information to assist you in understanding why you might or might not want to participate in this research.
- The purpose of the study is to document the experiences of dominance and submission in power exchange or authority transfer relationships.
- Your participation is voluntary. You may refuse to participate or withdraw at any time without penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled.
- Your alternative is to not take part in the study.
- The main study procedures include completing two surveys and participating in a one- on-one interview on Zoom. As a potential participant, you will fill out a short screening questionnaire to see if you are eligible to be enrolled in the study.
- You must be at least 20 years old to participate in this study
- You must currently reside in the United States.
- You have engaged in kinky behaviors in the past 12 months or self-identify as kinky.
- You are currently in a continual, consensual power exchange / authority transfer relationship that has lasted at least 2 years in length,
- OR your 2 year+ relationship has ended within the past year.
- Once you are determined as eligible, we will ask you to review an informed consent form summarizing the study. You can then decide whether to enroll.
- If you are not selected for an interview, you will be notified by the study team.
- If you agree with the informed consent, you will be directed on how to use Adobe eSignature to provide your electronic signature.
- Once enrolled, you will complete an additional short online additional survey and be interviewed by one of the researchers.
- After your interview, you may be asked to review and respond to some preliminary results, to help ensure that the study is scientifically valid.
- Your participation in the study is expected to last:
- It takes approximately 5 minutes for potential participants to complete the initial screening questionnaire.
- If selected for participation in the follow-up interviews, your interview will take between 1 and 2.5 hours.
- You will be asked to complete an additional online survey, taking approximately 30 additional minutes.
- So, if you are enrolled in the study, you will be asked to spend between a total of 90 minutes to 3 hours of your time.
The Study’s Purpose
The purpose of this study is to document the experiences of dominance and submission in power exchange or authority transfer relationships.
The results of the study may be used for future scientific and healthcare purposes; for example, a therapist might use the results to help to better understand their kinky clients.
Do you meet the eligibility requirements?
- You must be at least 20 years old to participate in this study
- You must currently reside in the United States
- You have engaged in kinky behaviors in the past 12 months or self-identify as kinky.
- You are currently in a continual, consensual power exchange / authority transfer relationship of at least 2 years in length,
- OR your 2 year+ relationship has ended within the past year.
Read below for more details related to the study
We recognize that participating in research involving kink can involve sharing intimate and potentially stigmatized aspects of your personal life. We want to assure you that your confidentiality, including the confidentiality of your kink identities, is of paramount importance. To protect your privacy, we will use pseudonyms and unique codes instead of real names in all data records, and any potentially identifying information, including aspects related to your kink identities, will be carefully removed or altered. If we quote a part of your transcribed interview in presentations, we will remove any information from the quoted passage that might identify you. Only authorized research personnel will have access to the study data we analyze, which will be securely stored in encrypted files.
We are committed to ensuring that your participation remains confidential and that your identity and kink affiliations are not disclosed in any reports, publications, or presentations coming from this study. Your trust is essential, and we take every measure to respect and safeguard your privacy. While all interested parties are aware of the need to keep your information confidential, total confidentiality cannot be guaranteed.
To the extent allowed by law, every effort will be made to keep your personal information confidential. However, information from this study will be looked at by the research team, and at the request of the institution, the sponsor/funding agency supporting the study, and those responsible for overseeing the conduct of research. This may include representatives from the federal Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) or other regulatory agencies, the Institutional Review Board (IRB), and the Biomedical Research Alliance of New York.
This study will not provide any benefits to you directly, but may help to develop an important new tool that will help scientists and health professionals to understand kinky people and communities.
- Are there benefits to participating in this study? No incentives will be offered for completing this study. Except for your time, there are no additional costs. It is important to understand you are not receiving services of any sort from TASHRA or CSU East Bay because of your participation in this study.
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Participating in this study may not benefit you directly, but it will help us learn more about authority transfer relationships. We plan to publish the results from our study in a peer- reviewed academic journal and to present the results at professional academic and health professional conferences We hope that through abetter understanding of these relationships through this study, healthcare providers may be empowered to provide more informed and potentially less stigmatizing treatment of individuals enjoying authority transferrelationships.
Please reach out to Kaston Anderson ([email protected] or [email protected] or 510-919-4488) with any questions related to the study.
ATR Research Team
Aidan A. Sunassee
ResearcherAidan A. Sunassee is currently in his final year as a BSc Psychology student at the University of Europe for Applied Sciences. His academic journey led him to volunteer with…
Read MoreStephen Ratcliff, MA, LPCC, LPC, NCC, CST
ResearcherSteve (he, him) is a licensed mental health counselor and AASECT certified sex therapist in private practice living in the Pacific Northwest region of the US who specializes in treating…
Read MoreAnna Randall, DHS, LCSW, MPH
ResearcherAnna Randall, DHS, LCSW, MPH (she/her/hers) the Co-Founder & Exec. Dir. of TASHRA – The Alternative Sexualities Health Research Alliance (tashra.org), an international health research and professional training organization focusing…
Read MoreDr. Kaston Anderson Jr.
ResearcherDr. Kaston Anderson Jr. is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Michigan State University; his PhD is in behavioral psychology, and he has master’s degrees in public…
Read MoreKiana S. Cummings
ResearcherKiana S. Cummings (she/her) M.Ed is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Northern Virginia. She works in private practice. She has taken specialized training in sex therapy, perinatal, trauma, and mood…
Read MoreLara Alfiado Zunguza
Volunteer MemberLara A. Zunguza (she/her) is a post-graduate volunteer member of the Center for Positive Sexuality based in Atlanta, Georgia. She first became connected with CPS through internship opportunity in the…
Read MoreLaRue Swann
Policy and Advocacy SpecialistLaRue Swann is a passionate researcher and advocate specializing in the exploration of alternative sexual experiences within the African American community, with a particular focus on Black women. Her work…
Read MoreNicole Martinez
ResearcherNicole Martinez (she/her) has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is currently training to become an AASECT-certified sex educator on top of her decade-plus…
Read MoreSteven
ResearcherSteven (he/they) is a political science and public affairs graduate from UCLA. Although politics is an uncommon background for human sexuality research, he is actively developing his research skills and…
Read More
Aidan A. Sunassee is currently in his final year as a BSc Psychology student at the University of Europe for Applied Sciences. His academic journey led him to volunteer with TASHRA, where he is involved in several research projects, including the ATR Study, Kink and Flourishing Study, and the International Kink Health Study.
Aidan’s specific interests center on BDSM / kink, arousal responses in sexualized violence, retraumatization compulsions, and the use of trauma play for trauma processing. His current thesis aims to explore the healing potential of trauma play through a phenomenological approach, aiming to deepen the understanding of this practice.
Aidan is dedicated to advancing his education in psychology and sexology, with the goal of contributing to the expanding research on the therapeutic uses of kink for personal growth and trauma processing. As a sexuality educator at The Center of Positive Sexuality, he aims to educate and inform others on these topics. His commitment extends to the destigmatization of these practices, striving to enhance understanding and acceptance among medical professionals and the broader public.
Aidan’s work is driven by the aspiration to create a society where individuals can freely process their experiences without shame or guilt, empowering them with resources to make informed decisions about their sexual and psychological well-being.
Steve (he, him) is a licensed mental health counselor and AASECT certified sex therapist in private practice living in the Pacific Northwest region of the US who specializes in treating Gender, Sexual, and Relationship Diverse (GSRD) clients. Steve completed his Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies in 2006 and his Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology in 2009. Steve is currently working on his doctoral dissertation with an anticipated graduation date from California Southern University with a Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology degree in 2025. Steve’s Dissertation is exploring trends in stigmatization of kink-involved populations in contemporary academic literature and mass news media articles.
Additionally, Steve volunteers for a number of various academic and community organizations serving sexually diverse populations, including the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) and The Alternative Sexual Health Research Alliance (TASHRA). For NCSF, Steve is a Director on their board, chairs the fundraising committee, and managing their Fetlife page. For TASHRA, Steve volunteers for a number of research project, was appointed a Research Scientist in 2022 and, is currently co-principal investigator of a qualitative study exploring authority consensual, adult transfer / power exchange kink relationships. For more information about Steve, please visit www.steveratcliff.com.
Anna Randall, DHS, LCSW, MPH (she/her/hers) the Co-Founder & Exec. Dir. of TASHRA – The Alternative Sexualities Health Research Alliance (tashra.org), an international health research and professional training organization focusing on stigmatized sexual minority populations.
With a Masters in Social Work from Boston University and a Doctorate in Human Sexuality and Masters in Public Health from the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco, my work over the last 20 years has been to build awareness of the emergence of Kink-sexuality as an scientific area of clinical and research specialty. I work with TASHRA’s worldwide team to create kink community educational programs, mentor healthcare providers, lead professional case-consultation groups, and develop courses and curriculum for healthcare professional continuing education and post graduate programs. As part of our research on the lived-experienced of kink-involved (BDSM & fetish), I am the Co-Principal Investigator on the International Kink Health Study kinkhealth.org and a founder of the MOTE Conference mote-con.org. In my private practice as a licensed LCSW, I specialize in sex therapy with individuals, couples, and other relational configurations.
Dr. Kaston Anderson Jr. is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Michigan State University; his PhD is in behavioral psychology, and he has master’s degrees in public health, experimental psychology, and applied behavior anlaysis. Dr. Anderson is a community-engaged scholar and community advocate, and he directs the Advancing Community Empowerment and Social Justice (ACES) Laboratory. His research aims to advance health equity and well-being for marginalized and underserved populations, including LGBTQ+ and kink involved populations.
Kiana S. Cummings (she/her) M.Ed is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Northern Virginia. She works in private practice. She has taken specialized training in sex therapy, perinatal, trauma, and mood disorders. She specializes in treating sexually diverse adolescents and adults for various mood, trauma, and anxiety disorders in individual and couple therapy. She has spoken on panels about sex, colorism, and relationships in the Black Community. Kiana completed her Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2017 and her Master of Education in Counseling and Development from George Mason University. In addition to her academic and clinical work, Kiana volunteers for The Alternative Sexualities Health Research Alliance (TASHRA) as a research volunteer.
Lara A. Zunguza (she/her) is a post-graduate volunteer member of the Center for Positive Sexuality based in Atlanta, Georgia. She first became connected with CPS through internship opportunity in the summer of 2024 as a research intern, and through CPS, Lara joined The Alternative Sexuality Health Research Alliance (TASHRA) and worked along several professionals on ongoing studies. Lara continued working with TASHRA as a volunteer after her internship with CPS terminated and is currently assisting on very promising projects. Lara hopes that her experience with CPS and TASHRA will aid in her goal of becoming a sex educator and disseminating reliable and essential information to marginalized communities. She is also a self-identified book nerd.
LaRue Swann is a passionate researcher and advocate specializing in the exploration of alternative sexual experiences within the African American community, with a particular focus on Black women. Her work delves into the intersection of sexuality, culture, and health, examining how Black women navigate, express, and reclaim their sexual identities. LaRue’s research seeks to provide a deeper understanding of the ways in which alternative sexual practices, such as BDSM, can serve as tools for self-actualization, empowerment, and healing within marginalized communities.
Certified by the National Black Doulas Association as an Intimacy Specialist (2020) and Holistic Fertility Specialist (2023), LaRue is deeply committed to integrating a holistic approach to sexual and reproductive health. Her unique perspective draws from her extensive training in intimacy and fertility, allowing her to empower individuals to explore their erotic selves safely and holistically. Additionally, LaRue holds several notable certifications in the field of public health and human rights, including being a Stanford University Certified International Women’s Health & Human Rights Specialist. This certification has equipped her with a global perspective on the challenges faced by women worldwide, specifically focusing on health rights, reproductive justice, and the socio-political barriers that impact women’s access to care and resources.
In addition, LaRue has completed her training as a California Public Health Department Sexual Health Educator (SHE), reinforcing her dedication to advocating for sexual health and education. Through her work, LaRue addresses issues related to sexual health, reproductive rights, and intimacy, all while centering the experiences and needs of Black women. She is deeply invested in using her knowledge to challenge traditional narratives around sexuality and health, providing educational resources that affirm and empower individuals to embrace their authentic selves.
LaRue’s research and advocacy are grounded in the belief that health, wellness, and sexual exploration are critical components of human dignity and self-expression. As she continues to explore the complex relationship between sexuality, culture, and identity, her work aims to dismantle stigmas surrounding alternative sexual practices while promoting a holistic and inclusive understanding of sexual health.
Nicole Martinez (she/her) has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is currently training to become an AASECT-certified sex educator on top of her decade-plus experience as a sexuality content creator and blogger. Nicole began interning with the Sexual and Health Alliance in 2022 and the Center for Positively Sexuality in 2023, the latter of which led to her involvement with TASHRA and the opportunity to assist with sexuality research and to learn from those in the field. She also plans to undertake a research-based graduate degree to continue contributing to the greater body of sexuality research. Further, she hopes to provide greater access to that information to the general public. Nicole’s sex-positive approach to research and education emphasizes the benefits and necessities of and barriers to living a more sexually authentic life. While her interest in sexuality is broad, Nicole’s specific research interests include BDSM/kink, women’s sexuality, sexual communication, desire, and sexual scripts.
Steven (he/they) is a political science and public affairs graduate from UCLA. Although politics is an uncommon background for human sexuality research, he is actively developing his research skills and looks forward to using his education to improve his community. After finding little research being conducted in higher institutions on the alternative sexuality community, Steven joined TASHRA as a volunteer in 2024 to further examine how kink communities advocate for their health, happiness, and wellbeing, both inside and outside of kinky and D/s spaces. His research interests focus on pup play, kink/BDSM as a method of healing, and submission within the gender non-conforming, nonbinary, and trans communities. Steven hopes to continue his research by examining how the intersection of politics and sexuality can be utilized to increase public health awareness and education.
