Informed Consent in Latin American Psychological Publications

Abstract

The purpose was to determine if the psychological publications included the informed consent in the procedure of their research. 1924 articles of empirical research from eight Latin American countries published between 1994 and 2012 in journals indexed in the Latindex catalogue were analyzed. It’s reported that the obtaining of informed consent has increased in an irregular way in 2012; however, there is a high percentage of publications that did not obtain it. The countries that considered the informed consent in their codes of ethics tend to have the highest rate of application. Consequently, it’s not only necessary to establish norms for informed consent but also to promote the critical reflection of the scientific dimension of psychology within an ethical framework, starting with professional training.