Research Ethics of Involving Adolescents in Health Research Studies: Perspectives From Australia

Purpose: Adolescent participation in health research studies is critical yet complex given the lack of clarity around issues such as consent. This study aimed to understand how those conducting research in Australia navigate research ethics in health research involving adolescents, through qualitative interviews.

Methods: Purposive sampling was used to recruit 23 researchers involved in adolescent health research using semi-structured in-depth interviews. Interviews were conducted via Zoom and audio-recorded after obtaining informed consent. Thematic analysis was used to construct themes and data were organised using NVivo.

Results: Two contrasting positions emerged from the data: (1) framing of adolescents as inherently vulnerable, their participation in research understood in terms of risk and protection and (2) adolescent engagement in research is understood in terms of empowerment, emphasising their capacity to make decisions about research participation. We traced these positions through three key themes, particularly in relation to the role of ethics committees: (1) competing positions as a result of inferior or superior knowledge about adolescent lives, (2) competing positions resulting in a risk averse or an empowerment approach, and (3) reflections on processes of obtaining consent which involves gatekeeping and tokenism.

Discussion: Our study highlights the contentious topic of navigating ethics committee requirements for the needs of adolescents. Majority of participants felt the current research ethics establishment is not favourable for researchers or adolescents themselves. While it is imperative that perceptions of ethics committees also be studied in the future, our study provides preliminary understanding of how experiences and perceptions shape how researchers interact with the research ethics establishment.