Exploring bioethical reasoning in children and adolescents using focus groups methodology

The present case study focuses on the exploration of bioethical reasoning in children and adolescents using focus groups methodology. The case study is based on a research project that aimed to explore the ethical considerations that children and adolescents might have, concerning recent developments in medicine and biotechnology. These developments (e.g., xenotransplantation, nanotechnology, treatments based on stem cell usage) and innovative techniques may provide a better quality of life or treatment to life-threatening diseases, but raise ethical considerations regarding the limitations of human intervention in life and death, animal rights, human embryos rights, and so on. The exploration of children and adolescents? thoughts and reasoning on bioethics could provide us with fruitful information, such as intuitive reasoning and original thoughts on these issues. Although we used a mixed - design methodology, including interviews, questionnaires, and focus groups, in the present case, we will focus only on the use of focus groups methodology in children and adolescents. We would like to address the reasons why focus groups methodology was chosen over other research methods, the benefits of this approach for our research project, and also the challenges that we faced while conducting the focus groups with children and adolescents. These challenges raise from participants? age and age-related characteristics as well as from the research topic itself and range from the preparation and duration of the focus groups to the mediator?s role during focus groups discussion with children and adolescents.