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Reporting suspected abuse or neglect in research involving children

Reporting suspected abuse or neglect in research involving children
Reporting suspected abuse or neglect in research involving children
In this article, we explore the ethical issues related to the reporting of suspected abuse or neglect in research involving children. Ethical dilemmas related to reporting child maltreatment are often complex because the rights of children and their adult caregivers may conflict and determinations of abuse or neglect are socially constructed judgments that depend on particular circumstances. We argue that when reporting is legally mandated, investigators must follow the law and report their suspicions to Child Protective Services. When reporting is not legally mandated, investigators still have an ethical obligation to report to help prevent additional maltreatment and allow children to obtain access to services needed to recover from abuse or neglect. We also argue that investigators should include plans and procedures in the research protocol for making reports and training research staff in recognising evidence of child abuse or neglect. Although investigators should report evidence of abuse or neglect that is discovered incidentally, they have no mandate to actively search for such evidence when it is not related to the study’s objectives. Investigators should also inform parents and children about their obligations to report suspected abuse or neglect.
1473-4257
Resnik, David B.
2cb53132-a9e2-4c83-be74-c3707f1d95bc
Randall, Duncan C.
21b02c15-4d2c-4491-b4ae-e8008c1a093e
Resnik, David B.
2cb53132-a9e2-4c83-be74-c3707f1d95bc
Randall, Duncan C.
21b02c15-4d2c-4491-b4ae-e8008c1a093e

Resnik, David B. and Randall, Duncan C. (2018) Reporting suspected abuse or neglect in research involving children. Journal of Medical Ethics. (doi:10.1136/medethics-2017-104452).

Record type: Article

Abstract

In this article, we explore the ethical issues related to the reporting of suspected abuse or neglect in research involving children. Ethical dilemmas related to reporting child maltreatment are often complex because the rights of children and their adult caregivers may conflict and determinations of abuse or neglect are socially constructed judgments that depend on particular circumstances. We argue that when reporting is legally mandated, investigators must follow the law and report their suspicions to Child Protective Services. When reporting is not legally mandated, investigators still have an ethical obligation to report to help prevent additional maltreatment and allow children to obtain access to services needed to recover from abuse or neglect. We also argue that investigators should include plans and procedures in the research protocol for making reports and training research staff in recognising evidence of child abuse or neglect. Although investigators should report evidence of abuse or neglect that is discovered incidentally, they have no mandate to actively search for such evidence when it is not related to the study’s objectives. Investigators should also inform parents and children about their obligations to report suspected abuse or neglect.

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Accepted/In Press date: 28 February 2018
e-pub ahead of print date: 13 March 2018

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 419477
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/419477
ISSN: 1473-4257
PURE UUID: 956a263a-db75-435f-8785-b3f3e0b9190b
ORCID for Duncan C. Randall: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8356-7373

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Date deposited: 12 Apr 2018 16:31
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 18:53

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Contributors

Author: David B. Resnik
Author: Duncan C. Randall ORCID iD

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