REPORTS OF ASSENT AND PERMISSION IN RESEARCH WITH CHILDREN - ILLUSTRATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

This study ascertained reports of assent (affirmative agreement) and p ermission (agreement by an adult fully capable of being informed) in 1 14 children's research articles in 1990 in Child Development (CD), Jou rnal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (JCCP), Journal of Pediatri c Psychology, and Journal of Clinical Child Psychology. Of the researc h projects, 43% failed to specify permission, and 68.5% failed to spec ify assent. JCCP reported assent significantly more than CD. Assent wa s reported significantly more in research with older children than wit h younger children. This lack of sensitivity to assent and permission suggests that many authors, reviewers, and editors consider reporting assent and permission unessential. We recommend specifying assent and permission in all manuscripts, highlighting children's research issues in graduate training, and using specific safeguards when conducting r esearch with children.