Judgement by Chairmen of German Ethics Commissions Regarding Group Beneficial Research

In 2006, Kathrin Radenbach presented a survey concerning "Group beneficial research on children and teenagers". In this survey, she arrives at the conclusion that group beneficial research on children and teenagers with more than a minimal risk and minimal stress is being judged very differently by chairmen of German ethics commissions. The study yielded the fact that, for some of the chairmen, a minimal risk and minimal stress did not pose substantial conditions for the reliability of group beneficial research on minors. Most of the time, the approval of a study project in a case such as this was, however, linked to the positive attitude of the minor to his or her participation in the study. Nevertheless, the volition of infants and preschoolers was assigned a lower importance than that of older children. The author held the current legal situation of imprecise laws responsible for this situation, which she personally deems problematic; she thus calls for a specification and concretization of the terms "risk" and "stress" in the pertinent German laws.

Radenbach, Katrin Elisabeth (2006): Gruppennützige Forschung an Kindern und Jugendlichen. Online Version (German)

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