An art therapist proposes an outcomes study to measure the impact of art therapy on a community that has just experienced a devastating flood. Participants are children in temporary housing. The art therapist is concerned that the experimental group receiving four weeks of art therapy will benefit to a greater degree than the control group participants, who are just as much in need but who will not receive art therapy. How should the researcher address this ethical problem?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

It would be unethical to withhold a potentially beneficial treatment from a group in need. Therefore, the researcher should provide a beneficial activity for the control group that is not art therapy, so that both groups receive some form of intervention. This will help ensure that the study's results accurately measure the impact of art therapy specifically, rather than the impact of any supportive intervention.

An Art Therapist Proposes an Outcomes Study to Measure the Impact