Informed consent and dual purpose research.

The ethical treatment of human participants in psychological research is regulated by both federal guidelines and the ethical standards of the American Psychological Association (APA). Under certain circumstances, however, both APA standards and federal regulations allow for exceptions for informed consent. In spite of the possibility of exception, a number of factors have made it difficult to conduct and publish research that does not incorporate informed consent. The authors consider these factors and propose 2 approaches that may reduce reluctance to consider exceptions to informed consent under appropriate circumstances. First, journals should not rely on informed consent as the only method of screening research for the ethical treatment of human participants. Second, efforts must be made to work with institutional review boards and other units that review psychological research to ensure that their members are aware of the conditions under which informed consent is considered reasonable. Failure to consider ethical research without informed consent may have serious ethical consequences for research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Informed consent for epidural analgesia in labor

Characteristics and reproducibility of bulbocavernosus reflex (BCR) and pudendal somatosensory evoked potentials (PSEP) elicited by mechanical stimulation in children were tested. Twenty-five male children aged 5-14 years without uroneurological complaints were enrolled in the study. In addition to electrical stimulation, a specially constructed electromechanical hammer triggered by an oscilloscope was used for mechanical stimulation of distal penis. All responses were detected by surface electrodes. The latencies and amplitudes of averaged as well as latencies of single BCR on single and double electrical stimuli were determined. Mechanical stimulation was described as much less unpleasant than electrical stimulation. Both mechanical/electrical stimulation elicited consistent and reproducible responses in high percentages of children (BCR: average, 80%/71%, single, 94%/100%; PSEP: 96%/96%, respectively). BCR latencies were significantly longer and PSEP amplitudes were significantly higher on mechanical stimulation. The compliance with mechanical was much better than with the electrical stimulation and the former can be recommended for clinical use. The effective mechanical stimulus delivered by a particular mechanical stimulator has a characteristic 'delay' (as to the actual point of triggering the oscilloscope ray) which influences the latency reading of responses; appropriate control data are therefore necessary.     

Informed consent: Therapists' beliefs and practices.

To assess the current status of informed consent among psychotherapists, a survey instrument was sent to 324 American Psychological Association members currently practicing therapy. 189 therapists returned completed surveys, yielding a response rate of 58%. Survey responses provided information on use, importance, reasons, communication, methods, and timing regarding 5 specific consent issues. These issues included confidentiality, risks, treatment length, treatment procedures, and alternatives. Results suggest similarity and variability in therapists' reported beliefs and practices. Therapists of a cognitive-behavioral orientation indicated they inform clients more often and consider the issues more important. These findings, along with the reasons given for not informing clients, highlight the complexity of applying ethical standards to practice contexts. Implications for practice and research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Informed consent for psychotherapy: Content analysis of selected forms.

Examined the content and the use of written informed consent forms at 40 sites providing psychological services. The elements of information most frequently provided on the forms were associated with confidentiality (19 sites) and financial obligations (14 sites). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The case for reporting the drug status of patient subjects in experimental studies of schizophrenic psychopathology.

Notes that many schizophrenic patients of interest as Ss in experimental studies of psychopathology are currently receiving antipsychotic medication. There is growing experimental evidence which suggests that drug treatment variables (e.g., the presence or absence of medication and daily dosage levels) exercise some degree of direct or indirect influence upon some performance and somatic response variables of interest in investigations of schizophrenia. Implications for the design of experiments and their interpretation are examined. Some suggestions for the management of potential antipsychotic drug variance are made, and it is recommended that the drug status of schizophrenic patients in all experimental studies should be reported. (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Informed consent in capital sentencing evaluations: Targets and content.

Far-reaching implications are associated with psychological evaluation procedures in capital cases. The gravity and complexity of evaluations in a death penalty context call for an expanded perspective on informed consent disclosures from psychologists who perform capital sentencing assessments. A rationale is presented for making defense counsel the primary target for these expanded informed consent procedures. Informed consent obligations of prosecution-retained psychologists primarily involve issues of notice, with a proposal for proactive acknowledgement of limitations in the evaluation procedures. Issues for informed consent discussion between defense-contacted psychologists and defense counsel include attitudes, theoretical perspectives, and professional history of the psychologist; logistics of the evaluation; and parameters and procedures of the evaluation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attention bias in nicotine withdrawal and under stress.

Drug motivation models postulate that attention biasing toward smoking-related cues is a cognitive mechanism supporting continued or renewed drug use, and they predict that drug use history, deprivation, and distress should modulate the extent of this bias. The present study used the modified Stroop paradigm to extend past research regarding attention biasing toward smoking and unpleasant, pleasant, and neutral words among adult nonsmokers and daily smokers. Both nonsmokers and smokers showed differential attention toward unpleasant and pleasant cues, particularly pleasant cues, but did not show a unique bias toward smoking-related stimuli. Results suggested that, among smokers, nicotine deprivation and exogenous stress (threat of electric shock) have a nonadditive effect on attention toward pleasant cues but no effect on attention to smoking cues specifically. Similarly, instructing smokers that they would have an opportunity to smoke did not significantly increase the bias of nicotine-deprived smokers' attention toward smoking-related cues, relative to arousing unpleasant and pleasant cues. Overall, results suggest that smokers' attention may be biased toward both smoking-related and other salient cues when deprived of nicotine and anticipating an opportunity to smoke. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Size estimation in schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic subjects.

Studied size estimation in 120 male acute and chronic schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic psychiatric patients. No significant group differences were found in the size estimation levels, or when the groups were subdivided on the basis of both premorbid adjustment and paranoid status. All Ss increased their size estimation levels over the 3 trial blocks. The thematic content of the stimuli produced a significant effect in the chronic schizophrenic group, with the nonthreatening scenes being overestimated relative to the threatening scenes. Some methodological problems common to size estimation studies are noted, and the growing inconsistency in the size estimation literature is hypothesized to be due to these problems. (23 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inducing schizophrenic associations in normal subjects.

L. S. Levitz and L. P. Ullmann (see record 1970-03762-001) found that normal Ss can increase their number of uncommon associations in response to instructions and reinforcement. Using 40 college students, the present study replicated this finding with a concurrent measure of response latency, and as predicted, the increase in uncommon associations was accompanied by an increase in response latency. Results are consistent with the theory that instructions induce normals to change their responses by means of an editing process, and it is suggested that such editing of responses is a "symptom" of normal flexibility rather than a model of the development of schizophrenic thought disorder. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Informed consent: Legal issues and applications to clinical practice.

Reviews the literature on informed consent and discusses its implications for clinical psychology practice. The legal and ethical rights of patients and obligations of psychologists are detailed. Specific examples of problem areas in professional practice are highlighted. Recommendations are suggested for guiding the practitioner through issues on which legal doctrine is sometimes vague, ambiguous, or yet to be established. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Informed consent and religious values: A neglected area of diversity.

Discusses the importance of examining the religious values and concerns of clients in psychotherapy. The use of the therapeutic contract in the context of informed consent is proposed as an ethical and professional means of exploring religious issues in psychotherapy. Research is presented that indicates that while psychology continues to recognize the importance of diversity, it has not dealt adequately with religion as a diversity dimension in psychotherapy. The new ethics code (American Psychological Association; see record 1993-19413-001) is explored as it relates to religion and diversity. It is suggested that, when relevant, therapists need to make religious positions and values explicit early in treatment to meet the criteria of informed consent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)