VULNERABLE POPULATIONS: STUDYING CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

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VULNERABLE POPULATIONSSTUDYING CHILDREN AND
ADOLESCENTS

• MARGARET LECOMPTE, PHD
• SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
• UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO-BOULDER

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WHATS A VULNERABLE POPULATION?

• Children under the age of 18
• People who are incarcerated or institutionalized
• People who are mentally handicapped

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Whos vulnerablemore

• People who are ill, physically handicapped or
  women who are pregnant, if
• The research concerns their physical condition
• Participants feel pressured to participation in
  order to receive or continue with treatment they
  need or want and cannot otherwise obtain

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Whos vulnerablemore

• Persons who are illiterate or who do not speak
  the dominant language of the culture where the
  study is conducted or the language of the
  researcher 

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Whos vulnerablemore

• People whose participation in a research project
  would expose their own illegal status or
  activities, and cause them them to risk of arrest
  and imprisonment

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One more vulnerabilitynot in the CFR

• Gay, Lesbian, Transgendered, or Questioning Youth

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OVERLAPPING YOUTHFUL POPULATIONS

• Drug using adolescents
• Pregnant middle school girls
• Immigrant children who are not fluent in English
• Incarcerated juveniles
• Emotionally disturbed or learning disabled youth

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Overlapping populationsmore

• College freshmen in a professors own class
• Gay and lesbian high school students
• Immigrant Latinas aged 14-16 who engage in sexual
  activity and therefore are exposed to risks of
  sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy

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CONCERNS REGARDING RESEARCH IN SCHOOLS

• Taking time away from instruction
• Obtaining permission from all interested parties
  Teachers, principals, district IRBs

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Procedures for Obtaining Consent

• Obtain written consent from Parents
• Obtain, where required, written assent from
  students over the age of seven
• Obtain oral consent from children over five