Where do researchers get subjects for child abuse research? who consents? what child agrees to be abused while research is conducted?

CHILD ABUSE: The case is reported to the hotline and the authorities starts the investigation involving the social worker, the physician, police, etc. Abused child maybe in foster home for protection while conducting the investigation.

Misconceptions: Research often falls into 2 separate types.In forward looking studies, you study a control group and one under the study conditions. In rear looking research, you compare a control group to those who underwent the conditions in the past. Most child abuse research is done as rear looking (retrospective) studies. Your confusion is valid, no review board would allow a kid to be put in such conditions.

Child abuse: Children are not abused for research purposes. Such projects would be unethical. However, there are many studies looking at the after-effects of abuse in adults who were abused as children, compared to those who weren't. Also there are studies of children who are at risk -- such as children of parents abusing drugs, for example, or those who have been placed in child protective services.

Child abuse research: It's a great question if you are unfamiliar with such research but understand the standard experimental method. Child abuse research is accomplished by comparing variables about subjects who report being abused and then comparing those to similar individuals who report not being abused. So they are not experimented upon but instead information is gleaned retrospectively by reports.