Ethical aspects of research on psychological trauma.

Research in the area of psychological trauma raises a number of complex ethical issues. These include questions about unjustified medicalization of suffering, retraumatization of survivors, the morality of also investigating perpetrators of trauma, and neglecting to provide appropriate intervention. We discuss some of these issues against the backdrop of a study of trauma in South Africa, and the recent work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in that country. PMC ID: PMC3181588 (March 2000)