title: Who participates in child sexual abuse research?
abstract: This paper stems from a prospective case control study of the effects of child sexual abuse and explores issues of sampling bias resulting from non-participation in research. Despite similarities in family demographics and in the level of abuse experienced, differences between the study participants and non-participants emerged. The more dysfunctional families were less likely to participate, the research was not a passive experience for the families and finally, non-participants were offered less therapy following clinical assessment. The implications of these differences for the main prospective study will be explored.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Lynch
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Stern
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Oates
authors.forename: B I
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: O'Toole
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015982:Bias; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010352:Patient Dropouts / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012106:Research