The purpose of the case study to was to determine the effect on interpersonal relationships in a person who has had a traumatic childhood experience. 30 incarcerated individuals were randomly chosen, were given the option to decline and consent was obtained. Information was obtained in a face-to-face questionnaire.
Risks and benefits to the researcher: Risks to the researcher include being exposed to a vulnerable population of participants. While this is a face to face interview, some participants may be more involved with their emotions than others. It is important for the researcher to remain unbias and treat the incarcerated individuals with dignity and respect. A benefit to the researcher, they will be able to verify the demographic information, they also will be able to take into consideration the participants body language and visual appearance of emotions while answering questions.
Risks and benefits to the participant: Risks to the participant include “Psychological harms including the research participant’s negative perception of self, emotional suffering (e.g., anxiety or shame), or aberrations in thought or behavior.” (2016). If a participant feels deeply about any trauma they have experienced, they may not know how to properly cope and suffer emotionally. Benefits include participants learning about themselves by answering questions about their past. They may be able to cope with some things in their life better and be able to move forward with any kind of feelings they may have had in the past.
Risks and benefits to society: Risks to society would include data that is not 100% relatable to learn from. The benefits would be how to properly counsel or provide guidance with interpersonal relationships to individuals who have experienced childhood trauma.
Level of IRB approval:
This study would require a full board review-“research that poses greater than minimal risk to research participants.” This study includes information on criminal history and prisoners thus the rational of a full board review.
John Carroll University. (n.d.). STEP ONE: Before You Begin. Retrieved June 14, 2020, from https://jcu.edu/research/irb/investigators-guide/step-one-you-begin
N. (Ed.). (2016, February 01). Chapter 4: Assessing Risks and Potential Benefits and Evaluating Vulnerability (Research Involving Human Participants V1). Retrieved from https://www.onlineethics.org/cms/8033.aspx
Personally, I can see why studying prisoners makes some sense. They are living a restricted lifestyle and could be a fairly consistent control group. However, this is also a dangerous road to go down. Prisoners are a vulnerable population and additional restrictions ad guidelines have to be in place to protect them as well.
In addition to subpart C’s provisions regarding composition of the IRBs and additional findings required before IRBs approve research, subpart C, 45 C.F.R. §46.306(a), permits only that research fitting one of four categories: (1) studies of the criminal behavior and incarceration (such as causes, effects, and processes); (2) studies of prisons as institutions; (3) studies of conditions affecting prisoners as a class, subject to conditions; and (4) studies of practices that benefit and likely improve the individual’s health or well-being, subject to conditions. Unless one of the aforementioned categories is applicable, ‘biomedical or behavioral research…shall not involve prisoners as subjects’.” (Huang, 2017)
Journal of Law and the Biosciences, Volume 4, Issue 1, April 2017, Pages 159–174, https://doi.org/10.1093/jlb/lsw064