TY - JOUR
T1 - The influence of age, health literacy, and affluence on adolescents' capacity to consent to research
AU - Nelson, Lance R.
AU - Stupiansky, Nathan W.
AU - Ott, Mary A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2016.
PY - 2016/4
Y1 - 2016/4
N2 - While adults are assumed to have the capacity to consent to medical research, and young children to have no capacity, adolescents' capacity to consent is not well described. Adapting the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool for Clinical Research (MacCAT-CR), we describe adolescents' capacity to consent to medical research and factors influencing that capacity. Our pilot study included a community-based sample of 30 adolescents, 14 to 21 years of age, who completed the MacCAT-CR after undergoing a simulated informed consent process. We found that adolescents' capacity to consent to research was associated with age, health literacy, and family affluence. These findings suggest that investigators and institutional review boards should be aware that factors other than age may influence capacity to consent, and, for modifiable factors, such as health literacy, consent processes for medical research with adolescents can be modified.
AB - While adults are assumed to have the capacity to consent to medical research, and young children to have no capacity, adolescents' capacity to consent is not well described. Adapting the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool for Clinical Research (MacCAT-CR), we describe adolescents' capacity to consent to medical research and factors influencing that capacity. Our pilot study included a community-based sample of 30 adolescents, 14 to 21 years of age, who completed the MacCAT-CR after undergoing a simulated informed consent process. We found that adolescents' capacity to consent to research was associated with age, health literacy, and family affluence. These findings suggest that investigators and institutional review boards should be aware that factors other than age may influence capacity to consent, and, for modifiable factors, such as health literacy, consent processes for medical research with adolescents can be modified.
KW - Adolescent
KW - Bioethics
KW - Capacity
KW - Consent
KW - Health literacy
KW - Socioeconomic status
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84983479638&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1177/1556264616636232
DO - 10.1177/1556264616636232
M3 - Article
C2 - 27009303
AN - SCOPUS:84983479638
SN - 1556-2646
VL - 11
SP - 115
EP - 121
JO - Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics
JF - Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics
IS - 2
ER -