Controversial ethical issues in forensic psychiatry: a survey

A survey was conducted of members of the Psychiatry and Behavioral Science section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) to determine their ethical concerns about controversial items. Issues were included in the survey from the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and AAFS Code of Ethics. Strong support was found for those issues. Some AAPL items from a previous version of their guidelines did not receive support. Fortunately, they have been modified in a later AAPL draft, after AAPL received this survey's results. Clarification was obtained on some ambiguous items from a previous AAFS survey. The present survey showed strong support for addressing in forensic psychiatry's ethical guidelines some issues previously considered too controversial.     

Management research in criminal justice: Exploring ethical issues

While there has been a steady increase of management research in criminal justice organizations in recent years, far too little attention has been devoted to the dilemmas surrounding these research efforts. The first dilemma is associated with the treatment of information or data while the second is associated with the treatment of human subjects. The purpose of this paper is to begin the debate in this sensitive area by exploring the primary ethical issues of each dilemma which must be constructively dealt with by management researchers if they are to avoid potential harm to their subjects, while at the same time, assure the validity of their results. Finally, several strategies which appear useful in addressing these ethical issues will be considered.     

Establishing safe injection facilities in Canada: legal and ethical issues

In the face of an ongoing and escalating health crisis among injection drug users in Canada, calls are coming from many quarters to initiate safe injection facilities as a way to reduce overdoses, the spread of bloodborne diseases, and other health and community problems associated with injection drug use. This article summarizes a paper on safe injection facilities released in early 2002 by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. The paper contributes to the policy discussion in Canada and sets out why and how the law should support the introduction of safe injection facilities.     

Methodological and ethical issues in child abuse research

The child abuse literature was surveyed but found lacking in analyses of fundamental ethical and procedural issues. The present paper, supported by a review of the relevant research, explores the problems surrounding the definition of physical child abuse, the gender and recruitment of subjects, the use of informed consent and deception, and the problem of maintaining confidentiality in this area. Greater detail in reporting of methods employed by researchers is recommended as an important first step to expanding discussion of these issues.