Adapting to attrition challenges in multi-year studies: Examples from a school-based bullying and cyber bullying study

Attrition is a significant study design and ethical challenge in multi-year research studies, and may have particular implications in research with young people due to the difficulties of conducting longitudinal research throughout key educational transitions (e.g., primary to middle to high school) and the significance of maturation on children's and adolescents' outcomes. The purpose of this research note is to review the challenges and strategies used in a school-based study of bullying and cyber bullying (n = 916) to minimize the attrition of primary (4th grade), middle (7th grade), and high school (10th grade) students and their parents over the three-year study duration. A key process was proactively anticipating challenges on an ongoing basis and leveraging strong institutional relationships (e.g., school board, research ethics board) to adapt accordingly. In particular, midway through the study (1) passive consent and (2) mail-based surveys were incorporated, to retain as many participants as possible. Ethical and responsive adaptations to the challenges of retaining participants over an extended period are discussed and suggestions are provided for future research in school settings.