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Differential Attrition Rates and Active Parental Consent

NCJ Number
241334
Journal
Evaluation Review Volume: 23 Issue: 3 Dated: June 1999 Pages: 316-335
Date Published
June 1999
Length
20 pages
Annotation

This article uses the pretest data for a student survey to examine demographic, attitudinal, and behavioral differences between those students for whom active parental consent was provided and those for whom active parental consent was either denied or for whom no response was received.

Abstract

Active parental consent in survey research poses ethical and practical concerns. One common argument against the requirement of active consent procedures is its effect on participation rates. There is additional concern that higher risk groups may be underrepresented in the final sample. Empirical support of differential attrition, however, is lacking. In the current multisite longitudinal study, passive consent procedures were approved for the collection of pretest data. For subsequent years of data collection, active parental consent procedures were required. In this article, the authors use the pretest data to examine demographic, attitudinal, and behavioral differences between those students for whom active consent was provided and those for whom active consent was either denied or for whom no response was received. The results indicate that active consent procedures produce deleterious effects on participation rates and lead to an underrepresentation of at-risk youth in the sample. (Published Abstract)

Date Published: June 1, 1999