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Maintaining High Subject Retention in Follow-Up Studies of Children with Mental Illness

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Abstract

Measuring a program's success in enabling a child to improve functioning at home, school, and the community requires careful tracking of children's progress during the intervention and after it is completed. Attrition is often a major problem in carrying out longitudinal research. I present a number of strategies for maintaining high rates of response in follow-up studies, including how to choose a study design that enhances participation, how to locate study participants, how to engage study participants, and how to select and train high quality interviewers. The strategies presented have been used with success by a children's mental health agency and may be helpful to other researchers as they evaluate programs, measure outcomes, and study the life course of children with mental illness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

    Ann Vander Stoep (Acting Assistant Professor)

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  1. Ann Vander Stoep
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Correspondence to Ann Vander Stoep.

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Stoep, A.V. Maintaining High Subject Retention in Follow-Up Studies of Children with Mental Illness. Journal of Child and Family Studies 8, 305–318 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022015312913

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022015312913

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