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Ethics of Informed Consent in Adolescent Research (From Crime Prevention and Intervention: Legal and Ethical Problems P 237-247, 1989, Peter-Alexis Albrecht and Otto Backes, eds.)

NCJ Number
120332
Author(s)
R J Kinkel; N C Josef
Date Published
1989
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Ethical questions for informed consent have plagued investigators of youth problems such as drug abuse, teen pregnancy, suicide, and homicide.
Abstract
The severity of these youth problems must be weighed against individual rights which demand informed consent for research. The Nuremberg Code (US Department of Defense, 1949, p. 181) states that "the voluntary consent of a human subject is absolutely essential," and does not distinguish between adults and minors, but only requires that the subject has the legal capacity to give consent. The following conditions would qualify research for exemption from the informed consent rule: 1) it involves minimal or no danger to subjects, 2) it involves social surveys or epidemiological studies, 3) it is conducted in an educational setting, and 4) the identities of subjects are protected. Some argue that to withhold information or respond in an inferior way to grave youth problems is in itself unethical. 30 references.