Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Children and Youth Services Review journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth Adapting to attrition challenges in multi-year studies: Examples from a school-based bullying and cyber bullying study Faye Mishna ⁎ , Lauren B. McInroy, Joanne Daciuk, Ashley Lacombe-Duncan Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Canada ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Bullying Cyber bullying Multi-year studies Attrition School ABSTRACT Attrition is a significant study design and ethical challenge in multi-year research studies, and may have par- ticular 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 ma- turation 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. Retaining participants in multi-year studies is a well-recognized challenge, which may have particular implications in research with young people (Ployhart & Vandenberg, 2010; Stephens, Thibodeaux, Sloboda, & Tonkin, 2007). The purpose of this research note is to share the challenges and strategies used in a school-based study of bullying and cyber bullying (n = 916) to minimize the attrition of students and parents over the three-year study duration. A key process was proac- tively anticipating challenges and leveraging strong institutional re- lationships to responsively adapt to difficulties throughout the data collection process. In particular, (1) passive consent and (2) mail-based surveys were employed during data collection to ethically promote participant retention. 1. Attrition in multi-year studies Attrition is a concern in all longitudinal research, as maintaining sample integrity is critical to producing rigorous research (Seed, Juarez, & Alnatour, 2009; Stephens et al., 2007). It may be a particular issue in research with youth, due to the “somatic and social maturation processes that are related to outcomes of interest, particularly problem behaviors” (Stephens et al., 2007, para. 3). Previous research has identified strategies to promote participant retention in studies with adolescents, including in school-based studies. These include: (1) collecting extensive baseline data to permit tracking if participants leave their school context (e.g., student and parent contact details); (2) recollecting data to permit effective tracking at each time point; (3) having the school support and assist in tracking efforts; (4) in- centivizing throughout the study; (5) periodically checking in with participants, and (6) using online resources (e.g., databases) to support tracking (Seed et al., 2009; Stephens et al., 2007). Many of these strategies were employed in the current study. The ongoing process of anticipating and responding to the challenges of carrying out longitudinal research, however, should be emphasized. The literature provides limited guidance on developing longitudinal research studies and implementing processes to minimize attrition (Ployhart & Vandenberg, 2010). Working collaboratively with institu- tional and community partners has been found to facilitate recruitment and retention (Ejiogu et al., 2011). In school settings, multi-level sup- port and participation (e.g., school board officials, school adminis- trators, teachers) have been crucial to study success (Mishna, Khoury- Kassabri, Gadalla, & Daciuk, 2012). In the current study strong institu- tional relationships were developed and maintained and the research team proactively anticipated challenges on an ongoing basis, leading to the mid-study implementation of a unique active-to-passive consent process and expanded mail-based data collection with the aim of en- hancing participant retention. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.08.019 Received 30 May 2017; Received in revised form 15 August 2017; Accepted 16 August 2017 ⁎ Corresponding author at: 246 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1V4, Canada. E-mail addresses: f.mishna@utoronto.ca (F. Mishna), lauren.mcinroy@mail.utoronto.ca (L.B. McInroy), joanne.daciuk@utoronto.ca (J. Daciuk), ashley.lacombe.duncan@mail.utoronto.ca (A. Lacombe-Duncan). Children and Youth Services Review 81 (2017) 268–271 Available online 16 August 2017 0190-7409/ © 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd. MARK