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Developing an activity to aid informed assent when interviewing children and young people

Research Practitioner Royal Liverpool Children's NHS Hospital and Edge Hill University, brayl{at}edgehill.ac.uk

It is now recognised that children as social actors, are competent witnesses to speak for themselves about their experiences of, and perspectives on, the social worlds in which they live (James et al., 1998). Consulting with children and young people directly is vital to gain an understanding of their experiences and it is important for their involvement in research to be appropriate and ethically sound. They should be guaranteed a clear explanation of the purpose of the research and a clear choice about whether they want to get involved based on a full knowledge and understanding of what is involved (Cohen and Emanuel, 1998). There is limited literature which addresses the practical process of obtaining assent from children and young people in social research. This article discusses the factors influencing the assent process and the development of an activity to aid obtaining assent from children and young people.

Key Words: Children and young people • assent • ethical issues • qualitative research

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