CONSENT TO PSYCHOLOGICAL-RESEARCH BY PEOPLE WITH AN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY

This study investigated the ability of people with an intellectual dis ability to consent to psychological research. The criteria employed we re based on the three elements of informed consent: information, compe tence and voluntariness. participants were 40 people with an intellect ual disability who had agreed to take part in a larger research study investigating their ability to consent to behavioural or medical treat ment A brief questionnaire consisting of six questions was administere d to each participant to discover the extent of their ability to conse nt to take part in the larger study. A scoring protocol was developed to determine whether participants had answered each question satisfact orily People appeared to understand the nature of the research, but ha d a limited understanding of the risks and benefits involved or of the ir right to refuse to participate or to drop out of the study. It is c oncluded that researchers must carefully assess the ability of people with an intellectual disability to consent before recruiting them to r esearch studies and must be aware of the potential for this client gro up to agree to participate without fully understanding the implication s.