Amplifying Children’s Voices: Towards a Better Understanding of Assent

Webinar presented live on March 5, 2024 by Shannon N. Ward, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Clinical Director at the Mohamed bin Rashid Center for Special Education Operated by The New England Center for Children.

Assent, typically understood as a proxy to consent, empowers individuals who cannot legally consent (due to their age or being under the care of a legal guardian) the opportunity to decide whether or not to participate in research activities. There is agreement on the importance of assent when working with children (see Conroy & Harcourt, 2009; Docket et al., 2013; Mayne et al., 2016). Further, assent is mandated by the Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts (Behavior Analyst Certification Board, 2020) and rooted in research ethics and law (e.g., The Belmont Report; 45 CFR Part 46). Despite its importance, practical applications of assent remains largely ambiguous for practitioners and researchers. This presentation will begin by explaining fundamental aspects of assent—addressing questions like 'What is assent?' and exploring key aspects of who seeks it and how it is obtained. The presentation will end with a review and comparison of assent methodologies reported in behavior analytic and early childhood (EC) research. Recently, Morris et al. (2021) reviewed behavior analytic research to determine the extent to which assent practices are reported and described in published research. We replicated and expanded upon their findings by reviewing EC research over the last forty years. Similar to Morris et al., a limited number of articles detail assent methodology. The potential implications of these findings will be outlined, including a discussion on future research, policy development, and design of ethical practices.



Please note:

BACB CEUs are not available for this recording. CEUs are only available for certificants who attended the live session.

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