Responses to ethical challenges in conducting research with Australian adolescents

Current research ethical guidelines are unclear about the extent to which adolescents can be considered competent to provide informed consent to participate in psychological research. Researchers and human research ethics committees (HRECs) need clearer guidance on when various types of parental consent are required. Some important psychological research on critical public health issues affecting young people is delayed, its methodology compromised, or even does not proceed, because the vagueness in current guidelines lead HRECs to take unduly conservative decisions about the level of risk from research participation, and the competency of mature minors to consent. This paper includes recommendations for researchers and the Australian Psychological Society that could enhance the ethical conduct of research with adolescents.