Responses to ethical challenges in conducting research with Australian adolescents
Open accessAbstract
Current research ethical guidelines are unclear about the extent to which adolescents can be considered competent to provide informed consent to participate in psychological research. Researchers and human research ethics committees (HRECs) need clearer guidance on when various types of parental consent are required. Some important psychological research on critical public health issues affecting young people is delayed, its methodology compromised, or even does not proceed, because the vagueness in current guidelines lead HRECs to take unduly conservative decisions about the level of risk from research participation, and the competency of mature minors to consent. This paper includes recommendations for researchers and the Australian Psychological Society that could enhance the ethical conduct of research with adolescents.
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Participants aged 16 years and older can provide informed consent as a 'mature minor'.
“participants aged 16 years and older being able to provide informed consent as a ‘mature minor’ [20].”
From Silence is deadly: a cluster-randomised controlled trial of a mental health help-seeking intervention for young men (2017) · cites this paper as [20]
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- Authors
- Kelly, A. B., & Halford, W. K.
- Affiliations
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- Griffith University (AU)
- Venue
- Australian Journal of Psychology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2007-05-01
- Volume
- 59
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 24-33
- ISSN
- 0004-9530 (ISSN-L)
- 1742-9536
- OpenAlex
- W2022212400
- Cited by
- 44
- References
- 20
- Citations by year
- 2025: 5 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 3
- FWCI
- 2.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Australian Journal of Psychology (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Health and Medical Research Council (189414)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Ethics in Clinical Research
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Children's Rights and Participation
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric Healthcare
- Keywords
- research ethics, adolescents, informed consent, mature minors, parental consent, research ethics committees, research risk assessment, capacity to consent, Australian Psychological Society, moral norms
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