What lies ahead? Adolescents’ ethical perspectives on predictive testing in mental health
Supervisor
Dr Gabriela Pavarini, University of Oxford
Team
Communications Officer: Keying Wang
Project Coordinator: Aleksandra Yosifova & Lasara Kariywasam
Protocol Coordinator: Leya George
Literature Review Coordinator: Benjamin Wilcox
Ethics Approval Coordinator: Sonia Ali
Public Engagement Coordinator: Nastja Tomat
Project outline
If you had the chance to know the risk of having mental health issues in 5 years’ time, would you be interested?
Advances in genetics, big data and psychiatry have increased possibilities for predictions of mental health. Knowing what lies ahead may well do good; however, it also carries significant ethical challenges that must be addressed by different stakeholders particularly the youth population.
This project explores adolescents’ attitudes and ethical concerns towards predictive testing, such as risks and benefits, privacy, stigma and personal identity. Sixteen-to-seventeen-year-olds will take part in peer-led discussions across different countries discussing these concepts using a gamified methodology. The study will contribute to the inclusion of young people’s voices in ethical debates and decision-making in predictive psychiatry.