The Role of Parental Consent in Adolescent Substance Use Research

Abstract 

Purpose

The objective of our study was to assess the effects of requiring parental consent upon study participation and self-reported substance-related problems among 14–18-year-olds.

Methods

This was a secondary analysis of combined data from two similar studies of adolescent substance use that recruited participants from the same adolescent clinic at Children’s Hospital Boston. Study 1 waived parental consent, whereas Study 2 required parental consent. The combined dataset included demographic characteristics and Car, Relax, Alone, Forget, Friends, Trouble (CRAFFT) study screening test responses. The CRAFFT is an orally administered screen that yields a score from 0–6 and that has been shown to be a valid and reliable measure of risk for substance-related problems.

Results

The participation refusal rate in Study 1, where consent was waived, was 19.7% (132 of 670 eligible individuals) and in Study 2 (243 of 411 eligible individuals), where consent was required, it was 59.1% (p < .0001). Participants did not differ significantly with respect to gender and age but did differ by self-identified race/ethnicity between the two studies. Because the CRAFFT score distributions were highly skewed, we used the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test for differences in mean rank. The mean rank in Study 1 was significantly higher than in Study 2 (mean rank 362 vs. 325, p = .02). After controlling for age, gender, and race/ethnicity, the adjusted proportional odds ratio for a one-point increase in CRAFFT score was 1.47 (CI 1.03, 2.10) for Study 1 compared with Study 2.

Conclusions

The research requirement of parental consent may result in substantial self-selection bias towards a lower risk sample.

Keywords: Parental consent, Adolescence, Research, Substance abuse