Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 4, 2026

Handwriting Analysis Indicates Spontaneous Dyskinesias in Neuroleptic Naïve Adolescents at High Risk for Psychosis
Published on: November 21, 2013
Legal pitfalls of psychiatric research
J Dawson1, M King, A Papageorgiou
1Faculty of Law, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Background:
The increasing complexity of psychiatric research, including recent attempts to evaluate mental health legislation, suggests legal advice may be valuable in a wide range of research contexts.
Aims:
We aim to illustrate both the legal pitfalls of research in psychiatry and the potential for solutions if the methods are carefully chosen.
Method:
Two examples of research are subject to legal analysis, one involving advance directives, the other the random discharge of compulsory out-patients.
Results:
This analysis illustrates that participation in research may expose clinicians to additional forms of liability, but the legal risks can be minimised through changes in the methods or additional safeguards.
Conclusions:
Collaboration between academic law and psychiatry can enrich research agendas and avoid serious legal pitfalls. We argue that sound legal advice should be sought at the planning stage of research in psychiatry, but the fear of liability should not lead to overly defensive research practices. The aim should be to strike the right balance between avoiding unacceptable exposure to liability and stifling innovative research.
Related Concept Videos
Archival Research
Blind Procedures
Ethics in Research
Blinding
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
Psychosurgery
Historical Development of Psychosurgery
In the 1930s, Portuguese neurologist Antonio Egas Moniz introduced a surgical procedure designed...

