Ethical and social issues in the use of biomarkers in epidemiological research

The use of biomarkers in epidemiological research may raise ethical and social issues. These issues stem from the belief that research participants have 'rights' to appropriate information before, during and after studies so that they can make informed decisions. Ethical issues can arise during protocol development, obtaining participation, and in the interpretation and notification of text and study results. Additionally, there are ethical considerations concerning the use of biological specimens collected and stored for one purpose and subsequently used for other research purposes. A major ethical issue is the maintenance of participants' privacy and the confidentiality of their test and study results. Ethics committees need to be well-informed about the scope, limitations and expectations of biomarker research in order to be able to respond to social and scientific developments in the use of biomarkers.     

Ethical issues in the use of human subjects.

Addresses 2 ethical issues in the use of human Ss in research: (1) the effects of participation in deception and obedience research on "character" and socially relevant behavior and (2) required participation of students as Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Informed consent in family therapy research: Ethical dilemmas and practical problems.

Presents several scenarios that illustrate the ethical and practical issues involved in conducting family therapy research. The 3 elements of informed consent, identified in the Belmont Report (1979) as information, comprehension, and voluntariness, are discussed. Guidelines for applying the American Psychological Association ethical principles (see record 1982-04246-001) from a systems-sensitive perspective are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment research in correctional settings: Methodological issues and practical problems.

With prison populations at record levels, classification and programming based on individual assessments are needed to allocate resources efficiently. However, there is a dearth of assessment research in correctional settings, partly because few psychologists are prepared for the special challenges posed by correctional research. This article discusses the methodological and practical problems that are especially common in or unique to assessment research in correctional settings, especially in prisons. It examines the distinctive culture of correctional institutions and the special concerns of their staffs; reviews considerations peculiar to planning prison-based studies; describes difficulties that may be encountered in obtaining approval by correctional institutions, funding agencies, and human subject review boards; and presents problems that may be encountered in collecting the data and in analyzing and interpreting the results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Addressing epistemologic and practical issues in multimethod research: a procedure for conceptual triangulation

Although a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods are being used increasingly in nursing research, little practical advice exists about the conduct of such studies. Conceptual triangulation offers one approach to multimethod research, addressing epistemologic and practical issues that have long plagued investigators. Conducting quantitative and qualitative research as parallel studies and using method-specific criteria for rigor provide an alternative to blending methodologic assumptions. Systematic examination of the support for findings guides judgments about model development, and the provision for multiple conceptual models resolves issues about the interpretation of findings.     

Subject-experimenter perceptions of ethical issues in human research.

Measured attitudes of 400 psychologists and 357 undergraduates to 4 hypothetical experiments with controversial design characteristics: (a) experimentally induced stress, (b) experimental pain, (c) manipulation of self-esteem, and (d) prompted unethical behavior. Demographic information for students (sex, major, number of psychology courses taken, and number of experiments participated in) and for psychologists (number of submitted and published articles, amount of research with human Ss, and use of the designs in question) was obtained. Results show that psychologists gave a stricter interpretation of the ethical issues than did students and the most negative rating to the experimental stress study. Students found the pain and unethical behavior designs the most distasteful. None of the demographic variables were found to be significant. An additional result was that 71% of the psychologists returned the questionnaire within 30 days, showing a high level of interest in the study. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethical issues in the supervision of student research: A study of critical incidents.

Professional psychologists (N?=?57), most of whom were experienced researchers, described incidents (N?=?144) in the supervision of student research that they believed presented ethical problems. Raters identified those incidents that did seem to present ethical problems and sorted them into categories. Although many of the incidents pertained to some aspect of fairness in authorship assignment, 8 additional categories of ethical problems were identified: incompetent supervision, inadequate supervision, supervision abandonment, intrusion of supervisor values, abusive supervision, exploitive supervision, dual relationships, and encouragement to fraud. Each of these ethical problems is discussed, along with several possible remedies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethical principles in the conduct of research with human participants.

Presents principles that describe the investigator's ethical responsibilities toward research participants over the course of research, from the initial decision to pursue a study to the steps necessary to protect the confidentiality of research data. Psychologists conducting research must consider the dignity and welfare of research participants. (0 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Four practical and conceptual assessment issues that evaluators should address in capital case mental retardation evaluations.

What unique assessment issues do evaluators face when conducting mental retardation evaluations in capital cases? This article describes 4 assessment issues and reports how 20 evaluators in 1 state have approached them: (a) What methods are appropriate for evaluating adaptive functioning in this context? (b) Should information about criminal behavior be used as evidence of adaptive functioning? (c) Should correctional officers serve as informants regarding adaptive behavior? and (d) How should the Flynn effect influence the interpretation of intelligence test scores? Implications for practice are that practitioners should expect to be asked about the relation between criminal behavior and adaptive functioning, must think carefully about the validity of tests of adaptive functioning for inmates, and must be knowledgeable about the current state of Flynn effect research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to the special section on contemporary issues in human sexuality: research and practice

Critical issues in human sexuality have changed markedly during the past decade and so have the contributions of psychology to the evaluation and treatment of sexual behavior problems. Some of the greatest challenges facing psychologists today include the increasing emphasis on medical interventions for the male sexual disorders and the relative decline of traditional behavioral sex therapies, the recalcitrance of sexual desire disorders, the prevention of "unsafe" sexual behavior, and the limited understanding of female sexuality. This overview introduces a series of 5 articles that examine these selected critical issues in human sexuality. Guidelines for clinical practice and directions for future research are highlighted.     

Process and outcome research in the treatment of adult victims of childhood sexual abuse: Methodological issues.

Distinguishes between process and outcome research, describes areas within process and outcome research that would be applicable to studying adult survivors of sexual abuse, and identifies methodological issues in these research areas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acute behavioral effects of estazolam and triazolam in non-drug-abusing volunteers.

The present study compared the acute behavioral, participant-rated and observer-rated effects of estazolam and triazolam in 7 healthy, non–drug-abusing humans. Placebo, estazolam (1, 2, and 4 mg), and triazolam (0.125, 0.25, and 0.50 mg) were administered orally in a double-blind, crossover design. Estazolam and triazolam produced orderly dose- and time-related impairment of learning and performance and produced sedative-like participant-rated and observer-rated effects. The absolute magnitude of estazolam's and triazolam's effects at peak effect was comparable across these measures. Triazolam, but not estazolam, impaired immediate and delayed picture recall. The greater effects of triazolam than of estazolam on immediate and delayed picture recall should be viewed cautiously because subtle differences between these drugs in terms of time-to-peak plasma levels may be a confound. Future research should attempt to more thoroughly establish the time–action function of estazolam and triazolam on tasks like picture recall and recognition and determine if the drugs differ at peak effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Variation in access to outpatient substance abuse treatment: organizational factors and conceptual issues

We propose to use a general mixing distribution in modeling the heterogeneity of the fecundability of couples. We introduce a sequence of parameters called canonical moments, which is in one to one correspondence with the moments, to characterize the mixing distribution. By using the bootstrap method, we can estimate the standard errors of our estimates. Our method modifies the usual moment estimates so that the resulting mixing distribution is always supported on [0, 1]. Moreover, the downward bias of the moment estimate of the number of support points would be reduced. Our approach can be used for censored data. The application of our technique in finding the sterile subpopulation is also discussed. The theory is illustrated with several data examples and simulations.     

Ethical decision making and mandatory reporting in cases of suspected child abuse

This article presents a unique approach to analyzing the issue of mandatory reporting suspected child abuse from an ethical decision-making perspective with a nursing model. Sometimes nurses confront this problem in their own families or in their neighborhoods or social groups. Clearly, deciding to intervene is a challenging and difficult process. Yet reporting is mandated by law. A model of ethical decision-making may guide the clinician in this process.     

Ethical issues and cases in the practice of personnel psychology.

We explore ethical concerns in personnel psychology. We review the relationship of ethics to changes in the dominant views in the philosophy of science, especially the movement from a logical positivist view of ethics to a normative one. We highlight Kantian ethics as the integrating principle relating to five seemingly disparate ethical principles of the American Psychological Association (APA). These five ethical principles are presented in the context of five ethics cases. In addition to the applicability of the APA ethical code, the need for personnel psychologists to be more attentive to their ethical responsibilities as psychologists is discussed, along with the need to raise ethical consciousness among all personnel psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conflicts and issues in the treatment of child sexual abuse.

Although the very nature of child sexual abuse (CSA) cases necessitates the interface of three very different systems—judicial, social service, and mental health systems—the disparities in methods, goals, and perspectives of these systems often places them in direct conflict. Moreover, the lack of consensus within the mental health professions regarding the conceptualization and treatment of CSA cases combines with the tensions between these systems to raise a host of unique and highly problematic practical dilemmas. This article reviews some of these issues with the goal of highlighting the conflicts they reflect in the hope of raising professional awareness and engendering debate, which may lead to resolution or at least consensus within the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)