Summary of articles discussing research with adolescents
| Reference (year) | Study description | Study location | Major findings |
| Woollett et al 33 (2017) | Case study—Consent for orphaned adolescents to participate in a mental health study | South Africa | Authors present how consent for research with orphaned adolescents had to be sought from the High Court before approval was granted by academic research committees. The authors discuss how the policy results in excluding vulnerable populations from research and give recommendations for mental health research with adolescents. |
| Joseph et al 59 (2016) | Qualitative research—Stakeholders’ views on international paediatric clinical trials | NA | Regarding the consent process, challenges identified by stakeholders include consent requirements in certain countries that conflict with adolescents' confidentiality rights; impracticality of using long consent forms with multiple required elements; and the need for guidelines to streamline consent form production. |
| Nakkash et al 60 (2009) | Qualitative research—Observation of the consent process for a two-phase preparatory study for an RCT to test the impact of a social skill-building intervention to improve mental health in adolescents | Lebanon | Researchers identified challenges to the consent process: incomplete disclosure of study information; complexity of terms and research design, compounded by low educational levels; issues related to who could provide consent for the child; and social conceptions that youth are not capable of decision-making. The greatest threat to the informed consent process was lack of voluntariness. |
NA, not applicable; RCT, randomised controlled trial.