Surveys measuring prevalence of child maltreatment are important knowledge, but IRBs might overestimate the risk to participants.
“The magnitude of this social problem is enormous. It requires extensive research initiatives to better understand the causes and consequences of family violence, and build effective prevention and intervention strategies,” says Delphine Collin-Vézina, PhD, director of the Centre for Research on Children and Families at McGill University.
IRBs and researchers must accurately understand the extent of participant distress linked to these studies, Collin-Vézina and other child maltreatment experts argued in a recent analysis.1 They offered an updated look at the scientific evidence, ethical principles, and legal requirements IRBs must consider. In Canada, one in three adults was exposed to sexual abuse, physical abuse, and/or domestic violence in their childhood or teenage years.2 “Similar prevalence estimates are documented worldwide,” Collin-Vézina says.
Yet, conducting research in this area is fraught with challenges. One of those challenges is hesitancy from IRBs to grant permission to directly question participants on child maltreatment experiences. “This hesitancy is based on a perception that answering those questions may cause distress,” Collin-Vézina explains.
According to the analysis, participant distress is infrequent and transitory. Researchers can meet ethical obligations toward participants, and legal liability does not extend to emotional distress. The authors offered solutions to meet operational requirements in child maltreatment surveys.
“It is our hope that the paper can offer guidelines to support child maltreatment researchers to design and execute studies advance knowledge on this important social issue,” Collin-Vézina says.
REFERENCES
- Mathews B, MacMillan HL, Meinck F, et al. The ethics of child maltreatment surveys in relation to participant distress: Implications of social science evidence, ethical guidelines, and law. Child Abuse Negl 2022;123:105424.
- Afifi TO, MacMillan HL, Taillieu T, et al. Relationship between child abuse exposure and reported contact with child protection organizations: Results from the Canadian Community Health Survey. Child Abuse Negl 2015;46:198-206.
Surveys measuring prevalence of child maltreatment are important knowledge, but IRBs might overestimate the risk to participants.
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