ABSTRACT
Researchers applying the scientific method to describe, explain, and enhance the status of children and youth at risk for or suffering from mental disorders are encountering ethical dilemmas to which current federal and institutional guidelines offer incomplete answers. The scientific and ethical dimensions of such work often appear to have contradictory goals. Scientific responsibility requires validation of knowledge through experimental controls, whereas ethical responsibility requires the protection of participant welfare and rights that may appear to jeopardize controls (Fisher, 1993). Researchers must confront such questions as:
“How is an appropriate balance between research risks and benefits achieved?”
“How are members of high-risk and vulnerable populations identified and recruited without violating their privacy or coercing their participation?”
“How are the autonomy rights of children and adolescents protected when parental consent may or may not be in the child's best interest?”
“How is researcher-participant confidentiality maintained when one learns that a child's welfare may be in jeopardy?”
