RT Article
T1 ETHICAL ISSUES IN FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIC RESEARCH ON MENTALLY DISORDERED OFFENDERS
JF Bioethics
VO 24
IS 1
SP 35
OP 44
A1 Munthe, Christian
A1 Radovic, Susanna
A1 Anckarsäter, Henrik
LA English
PB Wiley-Blackwell
YR 2010
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1781882142
AB This paper analyses ethical issues in forensic psychiatric research on mentally disordered offenders, especially those detained in the psychiatric treatment system. The idea of a ‘dual role’ dilemma afflicting forensic psychiatry is more complicated than acknowledged. Our suggestion acknowledges the good of criminal law and crime prevention as a part that should be balanced against familiar research ethical considerations. Research aiming at improvements of criminal justice and treatment is a societal priority, and the total benefit of studies has to be balanced against the risks for research subjects inferred by almost all systematic studies. Direct substantial risks must be balanced by health benefits, and normal informed consent requirements apply. When direct risks are slight, as in register-based epidemiology, lack of consent may be counter-balanced by special measures to protect integrity and the general benefit of better understanding of susceptibility, treatment and prevention. Special requirements on consent procedures in the forensic psychiatric context are suggested, and the issue of the relation between decision competence and legal accountability is found to be in need of further study. The major ethical hazard in forensic psychiatric research connects to the role of researchers as assessors and consultants in a society entertaining strong prejudices against mentally disordered offenders.
K1 research ethics
K1 Public Good
K1 Mentally disordered offenders
K1 Informed Consent
K1 Forensic psychiatry
K1 Ethics
K1 dual role dilemma
DO 10.1111/j.1467-8519.2009.01773.x