Confidentiality and Disclosure in Non-Intervention Adolescent Risk Research

Abstract

Non-intervention research on adolescent risk often uncovers evidence of threats to the welfare of participants or others that may be unknown to adults in a position to protect youth or provide appropriate services. Whether to keep such information confidential or disclose it to guardians or professionals is a daunting ethical challenge that requires investigators to balance tensions between scientific responsibilities to produce well-controlled studies and humanitarian obligations to protect the welfare of vulnerable youth. This article discusses the ethical dimensions of such decisions and provides a decision-making strategy for developing ethically appropriate confidentiality and disclosure policies.