Passive versus active consent: A case study in school settings

✍ Scribed by Leonard A. Jason; Steven Pokorny; Richard Katz

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 98 KB
• Volume: 29
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0090-4392
• DOI: 10.1002/1520-6629(200101)29:1<53::aid-jcop4>3.0.co;2-6

✦ Synopsis

Considerable discussion has occurred over the past few years concerning the issue of passive versus active consent in psychological research involving children and adolescents. Some evaluators believe that passive consent should only be used in very restricted cases while other investigators are more comfortable in using passive consent that utilizes anonymous survey instruments which have minimal risk to the participants. The issue of passive versus active consent was examined in a case study involving youth access to tobacco study. Following the administration of questionnaires, one parent strongly objected to the use of passive consent. This issue was raised on-line via two electronic bulletin boards to solicit opinions concerning the ethics of using passive consent in this study. When these types of controversies occur, there are multiple points of view that need to be examined and considered. Issues involved in this controversy are discussed.