Consent: The parents of all eligible young people were contacted about the study. They received a letter which explained what the study was about, what it would involve, the type of information that would be collected and provided parents with the opportunity to opt their child out of the research. This letter provided information about accessing agency record such as social work records, children hearing records, and school records. Prior to the start of fieldwork 151 young people were permanently opted-out of the study by their parents.   All cohort members are given the opportunity to opt out of the research at any time. Written consent to access Juvenile Liaison Officer records was gained from cohort members at sweep four. In 2006 cohort members were contacted to provide them with the opportunity to opt out of records collection from the Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO).

Confidentiality: All young people involved in the study were given a complete guarantee of confidentiality. This applies to all the information collected in the study including questionnaire responses and official records such as social work records. Until sweep six of the study there was one exception to the guarantee of confidentiality. This was that any disclosures of physical or sexual abuse would be reported to the school authorities. All data are stored securely and information that might identify cohort members can be accessed only by members of the project team. Further information on issues relating to consent, confidentiality and data protection are discussed in the technical reports.