Ethical beliefs and practices of AAPB members

Ethical codes and principles and laws govern the behavior of health-care professionals. Yet, the impact that ethical codes and laws have on the actual moral behaviors of health-care professionals is relatively unknown. A survey on the ethical beliefs and practices of health-care professionals was sent to the United States membership of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. AAPB's heterogeneous membership offers a unique opportunity to compare the ethical beliefs and behaviors of professionals across various health-care professions, educational levels, licensure and certification statuses, age, years in practice, and gender. The survey examined the respondents' ethical beliefs and practices in the domains of confidentiality, dual relationships, and professional practice. Five hundred thirty-six surveys were returned completed. The results of the survey indicate that all respondents have substantially the same reported ethical beliefs and practices across the three domains. There were no statistically significant differences between the reported ethical beliefs or practices when compared across disciplines, educational levels, licensure or certification statuses, age, or years in practice. Statistically significant gender differences were found.