Seattle University Collaborative Projects - International Academy of ...

ethical decision-making with regard to the set-up and implementation of relevant researchprojects.Psychobiological Studies on Risky Adolescent Substance Use: Ethical AspectsAnja C. Huizink, VU University (a.c.huizink@vu.nl)To gain insight into which psychobiological factors have an impact on the development of riskysubstance use among youth, including early onset of smoking, drinking and cannabis use, manyresearchers conduct longitudinal studies. In such a research design, it is possible to examine in atemporal manner if certain psychobiological factors (e.g. stress sensitivity) are associated withrisky substance use. However, direct effects of acute exposure to stress on increase in substanceuse, frequently found in adult populations, cannot be assessed in a younger population. This isdue to ethical guidelines, which imply that a researcher cannot actively expose an adolescent tosubstance use, by making, for instance, alcoholic beverages available to them when they areunder-aged. Nonetheless, several lines of research suggest that particularly adolescents may bevulnerable to stress effects. Adolescents’ brains are highly sensitive to reward, and thissensitivity may be further increased under stressful situations. With several examples ofimportant fundamental research questions, and their possible implications, I will describe theusefulness and limitations of ethical guidelines for research among youthWhat Researchers Want (and Medical-Ethical Committees Loathe):Dilemmas in Examining Gene-Environment Interactions in Children’sAntisocial BehaviorGeertjan Overbeek, University of Utrecht (g.overbeek@uu.nl)Suppose you are a psychologist who gets a grant to conduct an experiment on gene-environmentinteractions that underlie children’s antisocial behavior. Unfortunately, despite your new andrelevant research ideas it takes you a year and four resubmissions before you win acceptancefrom your medical-ethical committee. How is this possible? Building from my own experienceand gained insight, this presentation identifies some of the major ethical dilemmas in conductinga randomized trial that involves collecting data on children’s genetic make-up. The dilemmasconcern 1. the (un)desirability of giving participants information about their genetic make-up, 2.the (un)desirability of including a control group in an experiment of a known effectiveintervention, and 3. the fundamental necessity – or lack thereof – of collecting genetic data inboth children and their parents. Based on a critical review of medical-ethical review procedures,I conclude that several fundamental flaws now limit their efficiency and relevance. A moresystematic check of ethical difficulties in grant proposal reviews and the construction of an(inter)national database of previous ethical decisions and justifications can help to overcomethese current flaws.270