OBJECTIVES: Rapport building with adolescent participants (ages 12–17) is a key component of successful qualitative interviewing. Rapport building techniques should be adapted according to the target population, however rapport building techniques specific to adolescents have not been clearly defined in the literature. This work aims to describe methods for building rapport with adolescent participants during virtual qualitative interviews.

METHODS: A review of interview techniques and a supplemental literature search were conducted to identify rapport building techniques with adolescents during virtual interviews. The review was conducted among researchers at a patient-centered outcomes consultancy who have conducted interviews with adolescents for at least one year. The supplemental literature search was conducted in March 2023 on Google Scholar and PubMed. Concepts identified were organized by theme and frequency.

RESULTS: Thirteen concepts in four key domains were identified. These domains were interviewer behavior (six concepts), autonomy (three concepts), interview mode (three concepts), and stage setting (one concept). Interviewer behavior was defined as the actions and attitudes used during the interview to facilitate engagement. Autonomy was defined as allowing adolescents to be independent, including deciding how and when the interview would be conducted. Interview mode was defined as the virtual platform and settings for conduct. Stage setting was defined as creating an environment that facilitates communication and engagement. Consistent concepts were identified among interviewers and in the literature. The most commonly identified concept was the expectation that adolescents will understand the interview process on a similar level to adults and over-simplification should be avoided.

CONCLUSIONS: While virtual data collection presents unique challenges to building rapport with adolescents, the results of this research can help interviewers establish rapport with adolescents when conducting interviews virtually. Building rapport with adolescents in their preferred mode of communication can reduce a potential power imbalance and increase the quality of collected data.