JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Mental health research increasingly pursues societal impact and addresses urgent challenges, which places researchers at the intersection of two powerful forces: the drive for innovation, and the imperative of ethical responsibility. Drawing on the NEON Young Norway Study, a research project co-developed with youth, clinical, and technology partners, this paper explores four ethical tensions in youth mental health research. Four tensions appear broadly relevant across contexts: (1) informational rigor vs. methodological flexibility; (2) formal ethical standards vs. youth-friendly communication; (3) safeguarding against harm vs. enabling youth participation; and (4) pseudonymization vs. authentic storytelling. These tensions create a significant gap between scholarly ethical frameworks and practical guidance for youth mental health research. We argue that responsible research must collaboratively develop and codify ethical norms in youth mental health research that shape and influence governance. Critically, ethics should function not as an innovation barrier but as a dynamic compass for responsible, inclusive, and impactful research. When ethical frameworks inadvertently exclude populations in vulnerable situations, knowledge gaps emerge that may perpetuate harm. Thus, ethical practice must actively enable safe and equitable inclusion, not merely prevent it.