Noel Melanie, Boerner Katelynn E, Birnie Kathryn A, Caes Line, Parker Jennifer A, Chambers Christine T, Fernandez Conrad V, Lee Kang
*Centre for Child Health, Behavior and Development, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA; †Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada; ‡Centre for Pediatric Pain Research, IWK Health Center, Halifax, NS, Canada; §Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada; ‖Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2015 Feb-Mar;36(2):75-85. doi: 10.1097/DBP.0000000000000122.
Deception has been used to investigate the role of developmental and behavioral factors in child health; however, its acceptability for use in pediatric research has received little empirical attention. This study examined the acceptability of deception in a pediatric pain research study as assessed through participating children's and parents' long-term perceptions of its use.
Ninety-four children (52 boys; mean age = 12.77 yr) and their parents (86 mothers, 8 fathers) completed a structured interview that assessed perceptions of various aspects of deception in a pediatric pain study, 2.5 years after participating.
A minority of parents (25.5%) and children (13.8%) spontaneously recalled that deception was used. Overall, parents and children reported positive experiences with research participation, felt comfortable with the debriefing process, and deemed the research to be of societal importance. Opinions about researchers and psychologists were not negatively impacted, and most reported willingness to participate in research involving deception again.
When thoughtfully planned and disclosed, deception in pediatric research seems to be acceptable to parents and children. Future research should further examine the acceptability of deception and alternatives (e.g., authorized deception) among pediatric samples.
欺骗手段已被用于研究发育和行为因素在儿童健康中的作用；然而，其在儿科研究中的可接受性很少受到实证关注。本研究通过参与研究的儿童及其父母对欺骗手段使用的长期认知，考察了欺骗手段在儿科疼痛研究中的可接受性。
94名儿童（52名男孩；平均年龄=12.77岁）及其父母（86名母亲，8名父亲）在参与研究2.5年后完成了一项结构化访谈，该访谈评估了他们对儿科疼痛研究中欺骗手段各个方面的认知。
少数父母（25.5%）和儿童（13.8%）自发回忆起使用了欺骗手段。总体而言，父母和儿童报告称参与研究的经历是积极的，对汇报过程感到安心，并认为该研究具有社会重要性。对研究人员和心理学家的看法没有受到负面影响，大多数人表示愿意再次参与涉及欺骗手段的研究。
当经过深思熟虑的规划和披露时，儿科研究中的欺骗手段似乎为父母和儿童所接受。未来的研究应进一步考察儿科样本中欺骗手段及替代方法（如授权欺骗）的可接受性。
