TY - JOUR
T1 - Parental consent
T2 - A potential barrier for underage teens' participation in an mHealth mental health intervention
AU - Cavazos-Rehg, Patricia
AU - Min, Caroline
AU - Fitzsimmons-Craft, Ellen E.
AU - Savoy, Bria
AU - Kaiser, Nina
AU - Riordan, Raven
AU - Krauss, Melissa
AU - Costello, Shaina
AU - Wilfley, Denise
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health [grant number K02 DA043657 ] and the National Institute of Mental Health [grant numbers R21 MH112331 , R34 MH119170-01 ].
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Authors
PY - 2020/9
Y1 - 2020/9
N2 - Purpose: We sought to examine whether underage adolescents displaying symptoms for a mental illness (i.e., an eating disorder) would be willing to obtain parental consent to participate in a study to test the efficacy of an evidence-based mobile mental health intervention targeting teens with eating disorders. Methods: The participants (n = 366) were 15 to 17 year-old English-speakers who post or follow social media accounts on Instagram that emphasize being thin as important or attractive. The participants were administered a survey through Qualtrics to assess eating disorder pathology, interest in trying an evidence-based mobile mental-health intervention, and comfort level with obtaining parental consent to partake in a research study about such an intervention. Results: About 85% of participants met clinical or subclinical criteria for an eating disorder; however, only 12% had received a treatment within the past six months. While 83% of participants were interested in trying a mobile health interventions app, only 35% indicated willingness to obtain parental consent to participate in a research study. The primary reasons presented for unwillingness to obtain consent included importance of retaining privacy and feeling that parents lack awareness or understanding about mental health issues. Conclusions: While barriers exist to obtaining treatment for eating disorders, a mobile intervention app may close some of these gaps. Many underage participants indicated interest in obtaining such treatment, yet only a third were willing to obtain parental consent. Future studies should investigate how to reduce these barriers to obtaining parental consent to facilitate teen access to research and mobile mental health treatment.
AB - Purpose: We sought to examine whether underage adolescents displaying symptoms for a mental illness (i.e., an eating disorder) would be willing to obtain parental consent to participate in a study to test the efficacy of an evidence-based mobile mental health intervention targeting teens with eating disorders. Methods: The participants (n = 366) were 15 to 17 year-old English-speakers who post or follow social media accounts on Instagram that emphasize being thin as important or attractive. The participants were administered a survey through Qualtrics to assess eating disorder pathology, interest in trying an evidence-based mobile mental-health intervention, and comfort level with obtaining parental consent to partake in a research study about such an intervention. Results: About 85% of participants met clinical or subclinical criteria for an eating disorder; however, only 12% had received a treatment within the past six months. While 83% of participants were interested in trying a mobile health interventions app, only 35% indicated willingness to obtain parental consent to participate in a research study. The primary reasons presented for unwillingness to obtain consent included importance of retaining privacy and feeling that parents lack awareness or understanding about mental health issues. Conclusions: While barriers exist to obtaining treatment for eating disorders, a mobile intervention app may close some of these gaps. Many underage participants indicated interest in obtaining such treatment, yet only a third were willing to obtain parental consent. Future studies should investigate how to reduce these barriers to obtaining parental consent to facilitate teen access to research and mobile mental health treatment.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85085661244&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.invent.2020.100328
DO - 10.1016/j.invent.2020.100328
M3 - Article
C2 - 32528858
AN - SCOPUS:85085661244
SN - 2214-7829
VL - 21
JO - Internet Interventions
JF - Internet Interventions
M1 - 100328
ER -