Background

Since the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989 (UN General Assembly, 1989), interest in the ethical and methodological challenges involved in conducting research with children has increased considerably. Researchers who work with children have to take into account children's intrinsic physical, mental and emotional vulnerability as well as their interdependence with other family members, particularly their parents. This is especially challenging in research that seeks to explore children's lived experience in relation to aspects of their family lives.

Objective

We aimed to identify specific ethical issues and ways of overcoming challenges in conducting research with children on some aspects of their family lives.

Methods

We conducted a scoping review according to the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews Checklist (Tricco et al., 2018). Seventeen publications were selected for data extraction and synthesis, 4 of which were original studies and 13 reflexive papers.

Results

Our results confirm that a research project that asks children about aspects of their family lives leads to a number of ethical tensions: while children depend on their parents and family to ensure that their safety and physical needs are met, they also greatly contribute to the development of family dynamics. We highlight methodological strategies that allow researchers to mitigate the ethical challenges that are inherent to this type of research.

Discussion/Conclusion

A promising approach is to use participative methods at each stage of research, including developing a trusting and triadic partnership that includes parents, children, a multidisciplinary research team, and professional gatekeepers. Benefits as well as possible risks for participants should also be considered when children and their parents are engaged in a study.