文章基本信息

标题：Ethical Issues in Youth Surveys: Potentials for Conducting a National Questionnaire Study on Adolescent Schoolchildren’s Sexual Experiences With Adults
本地全文：下载
作者：Karin Helweg-Larsen ; Helmer Bøving-Larsen
期刊名称：American journal of public health
印刷版ISSN：0090-0036
出版年度：2003
卷号：93
期号：11
页码：1878-1882
语种：English
出版社：American Public Health Association
摘要：Objectives. We evaluated ethical constraints concerning youth surveys on child sexual abuse (CSA). Methods. We reviewed internationally published studies and Danish regulations concerning school-based surveys conducted without active parental consent. Results. Ethical constraints concerning participants in youth community studies have been scantily assessed. Danish legislation accords minors the right to be heard on issues concerning themselves. The anticipated societal benefits of children’s participation in community studies justify conducting anonymous surveys among schoolchildren based upon their own informed consent. Conclusions. No ethical or legal objections were found to conducting an anonymous survey in Denmark on CSA among 9th-grade pupils without parental consent, provided that the survey was accompanied by an offer of counseling. The difficulties in obtaining valid and reliable data on child sexual abuse (CSA) have been discussed by Martin, 1 among others. One avenue by which to obtain valid data could be youth surveys among minors. High response rate and low social selection bias are reported in surveys conducted among children in the mandatory school system. 2, 3 A further advantage of school-based surveys is that the results gathered reflect ongoing or recent abuse, thus increasing their relevance for national action plans. Although there are advantages to asking young people about their experiences of CSA, reporting bias may be expected due to fear of perpetrator retaliation. It may, however, be expected that anonymous self-administered questionnaires about recent events could limit both reporting and recall bias and thus increase the accuracy of responses. A request for active parental consent may represent a threat to the validity of a youth survey. The consequences of a change from passive to active parental consent procedures were evaluated in a longitudinal youth survey. 4 The results indicated that active consent procedures produce deleterious effects on participation rates and underrepresentation of at-risk youth in the sample. Therefore, to secure a high response rate with low selection bias, written permission from parents for young adolescents to participate in anonymous surveys should be avoided. In planning a survey on child sexual and physical abuse in Denmark, we reviewed international experiences and the current Danish national legislation concerning the implementation of youth surveys without obtaining active parental consent. Our goal was to find guidance regarding the ethical and legal aspects of conducting youth surveys about sensitive topics.