Goldwater rule

The Goldwater rule is the informal name given to of Section 7.3 in the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) code of ethics[1] which states it is unethical for psychiatrists to give a professional opinion about public figures they have not examined in person and obtained consent from to discuss their mental health in public statements.[2] It is named after presidential candidate Barry Goldwater.[3]

The issue arose in 1964 when Fact magazine published the article "The Unconscious of a Conservative: A Special Issue on the Mind of Barry Goldwater."[3][4] The magazine polled psychiatrists about American Senator Barry Goldwater and whether he was fit to be president.[5][6] In Goldwater v. Ginzburg Goldwater filed a libel suit in response to the article, he won $75,000 in damages.[3]

Rule

Section 7.3, which appeared if the first edition of the APA's code of ethics in 1973 and is still in effect as of 2016,[7] says:

On occasion psychiatrists are asked for an opinion about an individual who is in the light of public attention or who has disclosed information about himself/herself through public media. In such circumstances, a psychiatrist may share with the public his or her expertise about psychiatric issues in general. However, it is unethical for a psychiatrist to offer a professional opinion unless he or she has conducted an examination and has been granted proper authorization for such a statement.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 American Psychiatric Association, The Principles of Medical Ethics With Annotations Especially Applicable to Psychiatry 2010 edition pdf
  2. ↑ "Ethics Reminder Offered About 'Goldwater Rule' on Talking to Media", Psychiatric News, May 18, 2007 full text
  3. 1 2 3 "The Psychiatric Question: Is It Fair to Analyze Donald Trump From Afar?". New York Times. August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  4. ↑ "ScattergoodEthics – Revisiting the Goldwater Rule". scattergoodethics.org. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
  5. ↑ Richard A. Friedman (May 23, 2011). "How a Telescopic Lens Muddles Psychiatric Insights". New York Times. Retrieved 2011-05-24.
  6. ↑ "LBJ Fit to Serve". Associated Press. May 23, 1968. Retrieved 2011-05-24. Publisher Ralph Ginzburg, defendant in a libel suit for an article on a poll of psychiatrists on Barry Goldwater that he conducted in 1964 says ...
  7. ↑ Kroll, J; Pouncey, C (June 2016), "The Ethics of APA's Goldwater Rule", Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 44 (2): 226–235, PMID 27236179
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.