Thank you for taking the time to address this situation by seeking my expertise.
As said, according to the “Ethical Principles of Psychologist and Code of Conduct”
(APA, 2017) the very first principle, Beneficence and Non-maleficence, states that
psychologists strive to benefit and to do no harm (2017). To ignore the behavior
would not only being doing the individual harm in this particular situation, but if
this is a patterned behavior then there will surely be more that will be or have
been harmed by this sort of behavior. Bullying is a patterned behavior that we
cannot take lightly. I believe in this case I should address the issue because as
stated in ethical standard 1.0 5 Reporting Ethical Violations (APA,2017) deals with
reporting of violations that have caused substantial harm or is not appropriate for
an informal resolution. Trust is essential in research and you informing me of this
matter is a true sign of your work ethic and diligence. Principle B: Fidelity and
Responsibility, (APA, 2017) discusses establishing relationships of trust, and to be
aware of the responsibility that the psychologist has to the communities that they
work with. Reporting said behavior establishes and proves the trust that we value
the wellbeing of the participants above the data. I will speak with my superiors to
find a solution for this situation that will not interfere with the results of your
study. The wellbeing of our military personnel is detrimental, and this is an
unfortunate occurrence that we will handle immediately. I am happy to assist you
with your research issue. Researchers often find themselves in a difficult situation
when participants are under the age of eighteen or incapable of making decisions
for themselves and must have a legal guardian to protect their rights under the
Code of Conduct 3.10 Informed Consent (APA, 2016). Both options you have
selected could be utilized to resolve your issue. You can however, as you
mentioned, forego obtaining consent for your research. The Code of Conduct Rule
8.10 Dispensing with Informed Consent for Research (APA, 2016) specifically
states that if your research does not inflict damage upon or causes any stress on
your subjects and your study occurs in a typical educational setting.
I think allowing the student to participate in the research study is a promising
idea, but with his/her parents disagreeing you may want their participation to be
in a different manner. I know you want to include everyone and do not want the
student to feel they are being discriminated against as advised under Code of
Conduct 3.01 Unfair Discrimination (APA, 2016). The idea of sending home
anonymous surveys to the students’ homes may cause conflict and distress for
them. I believe a less intrusive method and good compromise would be
naturalistic observation of the participants during class time. Typical class
instruction could be observed along with some small new challenges and/or
teaching techniques introduced to the class that could provide valuable research
and permit all students to participate in the study. The staff who work with the
students could still do the anonymous questionnaires and surveys at home online,
so no one knows who turned theirs in and when. a I look forward to hearing what
decision you make and how your research turns out. All the very best.
