Beschreibung
Research involving minors is an area of controversy within
medical ethics and medical law. Minors represent a
vulnerable group, for whom particular protective measures
are required and who should be excluded from research that
does not offer the prospect of direct benefit. However, the
exclusion of minors from research into disorders of
relevance to their age group precludes the potential for
beneficial medical advances. Furthermore, effective
prevention strategies for common medical conditions with an
origin in childhood and adolescence, such as mental
disorders, require the delineation of those who are at
increased risk. This volume considers the ethical challenges
of research with minors for the researchers, but also for
the involved research ethics committees. In particular, it
reflects how minors can be more involved in the
decision-making-processes and reports about the experiences
in conducting the European multicentric research project
IMAGEMEND.
Lanzerath, Dirk, Priv.-Doz. Dr. phil.,
Executive Officer, German Reference Centre for Ethics in the
Life Sciences (DRZE), Bonn, Germany; Secretary General of
the European Network of Research Ethics Committees
Rietschel, Marcella, Prof. Dr. med., Scientific Director,
Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry at Central
Institute of Mental Health, University of Manheim, Germany
