Impact of in-depth interviews on the interviewer: roller coaster ride

The authors investigated the experiences of parents with children/adult children in metropolitan Sydney, Australia who were living with, or had recovered from, an eating disorder. During regular team meetings, the research assistant who conducted the interviews had described her reactions which led the research team to investigate her experience in more depth. The aim of the present paper was to explore the impact on the research assistant who conducted 22 in-depth interviews with the parents. One of the members of the research team interviewed the research assistant to elicit her reactions. The interview was content analyzed and the following themes were identified: (i). appreciation of an egalitarian model of research; (ii). the emotions expressed by the research assistant; (iii). making sense of the inexplicable and (iv). reflections and comparison to her own life role. The research team would like to advance the theory that the adoption of a formal debriefing mechanism be integrated into the qualitative research process.