Prevention Ethics: Explicating the Context of Prevention Activities

A framework for increasing awareness of ethical issues in primary prevention is proposed, which centers on explicating the contexts where prevention activities occur and the roles adopted by interventionists engaging in these activities.

Abstract

Research and intervention involving primary prevention [related to mental health and psychology] have grown dramatically in the past 10 years. However, little attention has been paid to ethical issues in primary prevention. This article proposes a framework for increasing awareness of such issues. The framework centers on explicating the contexts where prevention activities occur and the roles adopted by interventionists engaging in these activities. Several assumptions underlying primary prevention are stated, and ways of clarifying ethical issues are proposed.