Who Participates in Child Sexual Abuse Research?

This paper stems from a prospective case control study of the effects of child sexual abuse and explores issues of sampling bias resulting from non-participation in research. Despite similarities in family demographics and in the level of abuse experienced, differences between the study participants and non-participants emerged. The more dysfunctional families were less likely to participate, the research was not a passive experience for the families and finally, non-participants were offered less therapy following clinical assessment. The implications of these differences for the main prospective study will be explored.