Offering parents individualized feedback on the results of psychological testing conducted for research purposes with children: ethical issues and recommendations.
Research protocols involving children often include psychological testing as part of an assessment battery. Inclusion of such testing raises the question of whether parents (or others) should be offered the individualized results of their children's psychological testing conducted for research purposes. The purpose of this article is to provide a review of the ethical issues and principles associated with individualized feedback of psychological testing conducted for research purposes. Two hypothetical cases are offered to illustrate the complexities of this topic. Detailed recommendations for the management of disclosure of the results of psychological testing in research settings are also proposed.
Lefaivre
Marie-josée
MJ
Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada. lefaivre@dal.ca
Chambers
Christine T
CT
Fernandez
Conrad V
CV
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003219:Confidentiality / Q000941:ethics; D030881:Disclosure / Q000941:ethics*; D004995:Ethics, Professional; D032984:Ethics, Research; D030141:Feedback, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000941:ethics; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011581:Psychological Tests; D035844:Researcher-Subject Relations