Ethics and safeguarding

Informed consent

Conducting research with young people is an ethical approach to understanding their needs, as long as appropriate consent is sought.

Consent principles for research on sexuality are the same as for any sensitive topic with young people. It is essential that participants understand what they are agreeing to.

Informed consent means making sure:

  • participants have had the right information about the research;
  • participants can understand the information communicated to them;
  • participants can make an informed decision about their involvement with the research.

Meaningful input from young people is important to ensure that participant information is age appropriate, and that participant information and consent forms are easy to follow. These documents should be simply worded and as brief and engaging as possible. Imagery can be helpful; repetition of information should be avoided.

During research, young people may not feel empowered to speak up if they are feeling uncomfortable. Researchers should check in regularly to confirm consent and remind participants that they can stop taking part in the research at any point without needing to provide a reason.

Parental consent – passive, active or not at all?

In the UK, capable and competent young people who wish to take part in research have the right to consent without needing to involve a guardian/parent.

This right is supported by Article 12 of the UNCRC, which outlines that children capable of forming opinions have a right to express their opinions on any matters affecting them (Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989).

Legal requirements regarding consent varies between countries; the information here is based on the UK context.

Under UK law young people aged 16 and over are considered able to give consent. Young people under the age of 16 are not subject to any specific status governing their right to consent (MRC & ESRC, 2021). However, it is commonly assumed that the principle of Gillick competence can be applied to consent for research (Griffith, 2015). See here for more information on Gillick competence.  

UK funding councils encourage parental involvement in research (MRC & ESRC, 2021), while recognising the autonomy of competent children and their right not to inform their parents or take part even if they parents/guardians oppose it. Children can be encouraged to communicate with a guardian/parent, but they cannot be persuaded or forced. There are examples of ethics bodies implementing this guidance. The UCL Research Ethics Committee guidance states that “children under 16 are able to give their full consent providing they have been counselled and do not wish to involve their parents and they have sufficient maturity to understand the nature, purpose and likely outcome of the proposed research”.  Maturity to consent should be determined by an adult other than a researcher (e.g. a teacher) (Bonell, 2023)

The right to consent is particularly important for LGBTQ+ youth who risk being excluded from research if parental consent is required. For this reason, studies with LGBTQ+ youth often request waivers of parental consent. Relevant studies include (Macapagal et al., 2017, Flores et al., 2018, Pickles, 2020). Young people with conservative parents are more likely to be excluded from research where parents perceive the topic to be inappropriate (Moilanen, 2015).

Wherever possible, parents should be involved. This could be via a parental information leaflet and by encouraging youth participants to tell their parents/guardians about their participation.

In some circumstances, parental consent/assent may be expected or required, such as research in schools. Ideally, this should be ‘opt out’ rather than ‘opt in’ as the latter leads to underrepresentation of students from poorer socio-economic backgrounds (Shaw et al., 2015), as well as students of parents with conservative attitudes (Murray, 2005). Opt-in consent is also much more burdensome for schools.

A good summary of approaches to obtaining consent in school based research is here: Bonell, 2023. 

In international research projects, variations in consent requirement between countries make it difficult for research projects to harmonise consent collection procedures. This paper (Samdal et al., 2023) explores the principles, practices, and implications around using parental versus child/adolescent consent when participating in social science research and policy development in an international context. 

Safeguarding

Some young people taking part in research will have already experienced sexual trauma, including experiencing or witnessing sexual violence, or knowing someone who has. Evidence suggests that for survivors of trauma, taking part in research can resurface difficult feelings, but discomfort and distress are usually outweighed by perceived benefits (Neelakantan et al., 2022).

Safeguarding processes include:

  • Security checks are required for researchers working with young people. In the UK researchers will have an up-to-date criminal record check (DBS or PVG) before conducting research with young people.
  • A standard operating procedure for handling sensitive disclosures, which sets out processes for connecting young people to support.
  • Familiarity with safeguarding processes and procedures of any recruitment centres (e.g., school or clinic).
  • Attentiveness to verbal and nonverbal cues, including when observing self-complete questionnaires.
  • Provision of information on relevant youth-friendly support services for further support and advice. 

 

Back to resources for researchers

Loading