Matthé Scholten
Biographic Data
| ID | 312856 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Matthé Scholten |
| GIVEN NAMES | Matthé |
| FAMILY NAME | Scholten |
| SIGNATURE | SCHOLTEN M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Ruhr University Bochum |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8000-8974 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 24 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 2 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 24 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
A template for a psychiatric advance directive: Co-development and qualitative evaluation with key stakeholders
BACKGROUND: Psychiatric advance directives (PADs) allow mental health service users to express their treatment preferences for future mental health crises. An accessible template for PADs can improve their implementation in practice. AIM: Developing and evaluating a PAD template tailored to the German context together with key stakeholders. METHOD: We co-developed a prototype PAD template based on a systematic review of the content of PADs and a …
An International Comparison of Psychiatric Advance Directive Policy: Across eleven jurisdictions and alongside advance directive policy
The present work provides a comparative policy review of psychiatric advance directives, considering 1) variation across eleven international jurisdictions and 2) differentiation from other advance directive policy. The aim is to support well-founded legal and clinical practice when it comes to psychiatric advance directives by 1) clarifying the range of present approaches and 2) highlighting differential treatment of those with mental health con…
Establishing a peer advisory board in a mental health ethics research group – challenges, benefits, facilitators and lessons learned
While participatory methods are regarded as beneficial in many areas of psychiatric research, they are still rarely considered in the field of mental health ethics. Yet, there are several epistemic and ethical reasons why participatory research is particularly important in this field, such as the high relevance of experiential knowledge for ethical analyses. In this article, we report our experiences with establishing a peer advisory board for an…
Differential treatment of individuals with mental health conditions in high-consequence decision-making: A comparison of policy on advance directives and assisted suicide in three European countries
While both assisted suicide and advance directives relate to potentially high-consequence decision-making, the procedures for assisted suicide requests and expressing preferences through an advance directive typically place such processes outside of acute, emergency scenarios. These contexts allow for the decisions to be well-considered. As such, assisted suicide for individuals with mental health conditions and psychiatric advance directives pre…
Improving the Ethics Review of Qualitative Health Research: A Comparison of Review Practices and Suggestions for Improvement by Researchers and Members of Research Ethics Committees
Most qualitative health research is subject to ethics review and approval by a research ethics committee (REC). While many studies have identified the challenges that current ethics review practices pose to qualitative health research, there is currently a call to move the research focus from the shortcomings of ethics review practices to the possibilities for improvement. The aim of this grounded theory study was to identify possibilities for im…
Qualitative health research and procedural ethics: An interview study to investigate researchers’ ways of navigating the demands of medical research ethics committees in Germany
This study explores how qualitative health researchers navigate the demands of medical research ethics committees in Germany where qualitative research is subject to approval only when it is conducted in medical contexts. We present the results of a grounded theory study to investigate qualitative health researchers’ experiences with procedural ethics and the strategies they adopt to navigate its demands. Our analysis revealed six dimensions of e…
Assisted suicide and the discrimination argument: Can people with mental illness fulfill beneficence‐ and autonomy‐based eligibility criteria
According to the “discrimination argument,” it would be discriminatory and hence impermissible to categorically exclude people with mental illness (PMI) from access to assisted suicide (AS) if AS is accessible to people with somatic illnesses. In objection to this, it could be argued that excluding PMI is not discriminatory, but rather based on their inability to meet certain eligibility criteria for AS. Which criteria are deemed necessary depend…
Perspectives on advance research directives from individuals with mild cognitive impairment and family members: A qualitative interview study
ARDs were predominantly seen as valuable instruments that enable individuals with MCI to participate in research. This study provides insights into the reasons why affected individuals are interested in drafting ARDs. These insights can guide the development of supportive interventions that are tailored to assist individuals with MCI and their families in navigating ARD processes
Treatment Pressures and the Predicament of Family Care: A Grounded Theory Study With Relatives of People With a Serious Mental Health Condition
Relatives are increasingly recognized as important in the care of people with a serious mental health condition, such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia. Research indicates that in providing care, relatives use so-called treatment pressures, such as persuasion, interpersonal leverage, inducements, or threats, to promote the treatment compliance of their family member. This grounded theory study investigated why relat…
Research ethics in practice: An analysis of ethical issues encountered in qualitative health research with mental health service users and relatives
The ethics review of qualitative health research poses various challenges that are due to a mismatch between the current practice of ethics review and the nature of qualitative methodology. The process of obtaining ethics approval for a study by a research ethics committee before the start of a research study has been described as “procedural ethics” and the identification and handling of ethical issues by researchers during the research process …
A Kantian quality of will account of excuses
It is a common picture that Kant is committed to an uncompromising account of moral responsibility that leaves no room for excuses. I argue that this picture is mistaken. More specifically, I reconstruct a Kantian quality of will account of excuses according to which an agent is excused for performing a morally wrong (or omitting a morally obligatory) action if and only if the action (or omission) does not manifest a lack of good will on the part…
Research Ethics in Qualitative Health Research
Kant is a soft determinist
The aim of this paper is to situate Kant in the debate on free will. Whereas Kantians often assume that Kant's views on free will cannot be brought under any of the headings of this debate, contemporary free will theorists commonly assume that Kant is an incompatibilist of the libertarian type. I argue against both assumptions: Kant can and should be characterized as a compatibilist and more specifically as a soft determinist. After removing some…
Blaming friends
The aim of this paper is to shed light on the complex relations between friendship and blame. In the first part, I show that to be friends is to have certain evaluative, emotional and behavioral dispositions toward each other, and distinguish between two kinds of norms of friendship, namely friendship-based obligations and friendship-constituting rules. Friendship-based obligations tag actions of friends as obligatory, permissible or wrong, where…
Opportunities and risks of self-binding directives: A qualitative study involving stakeholders and researchers in Germany
The fact that stakeholders consider SBDs as an opportunity to improve personalized crisis care for people with bipolar disorder indicates that a debate about the legal and clinical implementation of SBDs in Germany and beyond is necessary
Kant’s Reply to the Consequence Argument
In this paper, I show that Kant’s solution to the third antinomy is a reply sui generis to the consequence argument. If sound, the consequence argument yields that we are not morally responsible for our actions because our actions are not up to us. After expounding the modal version of the consequence argument advanced by Peter van Inwagen, I show that Kant accepts the inference rules of the argument and a requirement of alternate possibilities f…
Ought implies can, asymmetrical freedom, and the practical irrelevance of transcendental freedom
In this paper, I demonstrate that Kant's commitment to an asymmetry between the control conditions for praise and blame is explained by his endorsement of the principle Ought Implies Can (OIC). I argue that Kant accepts only a relatively weak version of OIC and that he is hence committed only to a relatively weak requirement of alternate possibilities for moral blame. This suggests that whether we are transcendentally free is irrelevant to questi…
Self-binding directives under the new Dutch Law on Compulsory Mental Health Care: An analysis of the legal framework and a proposal for reform
Supported Decision-Making in Persons With Dementia: Development of an Enhanced Consent Procedure for Lumbar Puncture
The right to make autonomous decisions is enshrined in law. However, the question how persons with cognitive deficits can be enabled to make autonomous decisions has not been satisfactorily addressed. In particular, the concept of supported decision-making and its implementation into practice has been poorly explored for persons with dementia (PwD).This article describes the empirical development and implementation of support tools to enhance inf…
A German Version of the Staff Attitude to Coercion Scale. Development and Empirical Validation
Background: Individual staff factors, such as personality traits and attitudes, are increasingly seen as an important factor in the reduction of coercion in mental health services. At the same time, only a few validated instruments exist to measure those factors and examine their influence on the use of coercion. Aim: The present study aimed to develop and validate a German version of the Staff Attitude to Coercion Scale (SACS). Methods: The orig…
Under which conditions are changes in the treatment of people under involuntary commitment justified during the Covid-19 pandemic? An ethical evaluation of current developments in Germany
Commentary 1: Research with Persons Under Involuntary Commitment—Ethical Issues Surrounding Competence and Voluntariness
In this case commentary, we analyze ethical concerns that were raised in response to an interview with a woman with bipolar disorder who was under involuntary commitment. We focus on competence and voluntariness as two prerequisites for valid informed consent. We recommend that judgments of competence be based on whether prospective research participants sufficiently possess certain decision-making abilities. Based on this functional approach, we…
Commentary 2: Qualitative Research with Vulnerable Persons—How to Ensure that Burdens and Benefits are Proportional and Fairly Distributed
This case commentary investigates whether the risks and benefits of an interview study with persons under involuntary commitment on open-door policies in psychiatry were proportional and fairly distributed. Given that there is little data available on the views of service users on open-door policies, the study had significant social value. Because the individual benefits are limited in studies like this, we recommend that special measures be take…
Psychiatric Advance Directives Under the Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities: Why Advance Instructions Should Be Able to Override Current Preferences
Psychiatric advance directives (PADs) are documents by means of which mental health service users can make known their preferences regarding treatment in a future mental health crisis. Many states with explicit legal provisions for PADs have ratified the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). While important UN bodies consider PADs a useful tool to promote the autonomy of service users, we show that an a…
Commentary 1: Research with Persons Under Involuntary Commitment—Ethical Issues Surrounding Competence and Voluntariness
In this case commentary, we analyze ethical concerns that were raised in response to an interview with a woman with bipolar disorder who was under involuntary commitment. We focus on competence and voluntariness as two prerequisites for valid informed consent. We recommend that judgments of competence be based on whether prospective research participants sufficiently possess certain decision-making abilities. Based on this functional approach, we…
Commentary 2: Qualitative Research with Vulnerable Persons—How to Ensure that Burdens and Benefits are Proportional and Fairly Distributed
This case commentary investigates whether the risks and benefits of an interview study with persons under involuntary commitment on open-door policies in psychiatry were proportional and fairly distributed. Given that there is little data available on the views of service users on open-door policies, the study had significant social value. Because the individual benefits are limited in studies like this, we recommend that special measures be take…
Psychiatric Advance Directives Under the Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities: Why Advance Instructions Should Be Able to Override Current Preferences
Psychiatric advance directives (PADs) are documents by means of which mental health service users can make known their preferences regarding treatment in a future mental health crisis. Many states with explicit legal provisions for PADs have ratified the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). While important UN bodies consider PADs a useful tool to promote the autonomy of service users, we show that an a…
Under which conditions are changes in the treatment of people under involuntary commitment justified during the Covid-19 pandemic? An ethical evaluation of current developments in Germany
Kant’s Reply to the Consequence Argument
In this paper, I show that Kant’s solution to the third antinomy is a reply sui generis to the consequence argument. If sound, the consequence argument yields that we are not morally responsible for our actions because our actions are not up to us. After expounding the modal version of the consequence argument advanced by Peter van Inwagen, I show that Kant accepts the inference rules of the argument and a requirement of alternate possibilities f…
Ought implies can, asymmetrical freedom, and the practical irrelevance of transcendental freedom
In this paper, I demonstrate that Kant's commitment to an asymmetry between the control conditions for praise and blame is explained by his endorsement of the principle Ought Implies Can (OIC). I argue that Kant accepts only a relatively weak version of OIC and that he is hence committed only to a relatively weak requirement of alternate possibilities for moral blame. This suggests that whether we are transcendentally free is irrelevant to questi…
Self-binding directives under the new Dutch Law on Compulsory Mental Health Care: An analysis of the legal framework and a proposal for reform
Supported Decision-Making in Persons With Dementia: Development of an Enhanced Consent Procedure for Lumbar Puncture
The right to make autonomous decisions is enshrined in law. However, the question how persons with cognitive deficits can be enabled to make autonomous decisions has not been satisfactorily addressed. In particular, the concept of supported decision-making and its implementation into practice has been poorly explored for persons with dementia (PwD).This article describes the empirical development and implementation of support tools to enhance inf…
A German Version of the Staff Attitude to Coercion Scale. Development and Empirical Validation
Background: Individual staff factors, such as personality traits and attitudes, are increasingly seen as an important factor in the reduction of coercion in mental health services. At the same time, only a few validated instruments exist to measure those factors and examine their influence on the use of coercion. Aim: The present study aimed to develop and validate a German version of the Staff Attitude to Coercion Scale (SACS). Methods: The orig…
Kant is a soft determinist
The aim of this paper is to situate Kant in the debate on free will. Whereas Kantians often assume that Kant's views on free will cannot be brought under any of the headings of this debate, contemporary free will theorists commonly assume that Kant is an incompatibilist of the libertarian type. I argue against both assumptions: Kant can and should be characterized as a compatibilist and more specifically as a soft determinist. After removing some…
Blaming friends
The aim of this paper is to shed light on the complex relations between friendship and blame. In the first part, I show that to be friends is to have certain evaluative, emotional and behavioral dispositions toward each other, and distinguish between two kinds of norms of friendship, namely friendship-based obligations and friendship-constituting rules. Friendship-based obligations tag actions of friends as obligatory, permissible or wrong, where…
Opportunities and risks of self-binding directives: A qualitative study involving stakeholders and researchers in Germany
The fact that stakeholders consider SBDs as an opportunity to improve personalized crisis care for people with bipolar disorder indicates that a debate about the legal and clinical implementation of SBDs in Germany and beyond is necessary
Research ethics in practice: An analysis of ethical issues encountered in qualitative health research with mental health service users and relatives
The ethics review of qualitative health research poses various challenges that are due to a mismatch between the current practice of ethics review and the nature of qualitative methodology. The process of obtaining ethics approval for a study by a research ethics committee before the start of a research study has been described as “procedural ethics” and the identification and handling of ethical issues by researchers during the research process …
A Kantian quality of will account of excuses
It is a common picture that Kant is committed to an uncompromising account of moral responsibility that leaves no room for excuses. I argue that this picture is mistaken. More specifically, I reconstruct a Kantian quality of will account of excuses according to which an agent is excused for performing a morally wrong (or omitting a morally obligatory) action if and only if the action (or omission) does not manifest a lack of good will on the part…
Research Ethics in Qualitative Health Research
Qualitative health research and procedural ethics: An interview study to investigate researchers’ ways of navigating the demands of medical research ethics committees in Germany
This study explores how qualitative health researchers navigate the demands of medical research ethics committees in Germany where qualitative research is subject to approval only when it is conducted in medical contexts. We present the results of a grounded theory study to investigate qualitative health researchers’ experiences with procedural ethics and the strategies they adopt to navigate its demands. Our analysis revealed six dimensions of e…
Assisted suicide and the discrimination argument: Can people with mental illness fulfill beneficence‐ and autonomy‐based eligibility criteria
According to the “discrimination argument,” it would be discriminatory and hence impermissible to categorically exclude people with mental illness (PMI) from access to assisted suicide (AS) if AS is accessible to people with somatic illnesses. In objection to this, it could be argued that excluding PMI is not discriminatory, but rather based on their inability to meet certain eligibility criteria for AS. Which criteria are deemed necessary depend…
Perspectives on advance research directives from individuals with mild cognitive impairment and family members: A qualitative interview study
ARDs were predominantly seen as valuable instruments that enable individuals with MCI to participate in research. This study provides insights into the reasons why affected individuals are interested in drafting ARDs. These insights can guide the development of supportive interventions that are tailored to assist individuals with MCI and their families in navigating ARD processes
Treatment Pressures and the Predicament of Family Care: A Grounded Theory Study With Relatives of People With a Serious Mental Health Condition
Relatives are increasingly recognized as important in the care of people with a serious mental health condition, such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia. Research indicates that in providing care, relatives use so-called treatment pressures, such as persuasion, interpersonal leverage, inducements, or threats, to promote the treatment compliance of their family member. This grounded theory study investigated why relat…
A template for a psychiatric advance directive: Co-development and qualitative evaluation with key stakeholders
BACKGROUND: Psychiatric advance directives (PADs) allow mental health service users to express their treatment preferences for future mental health crises. An accessible template for PADs can improve their implementation in practice. AIM: Developing and evaluating a PAD template tailored to the German context together with key stakeholders. METHOD: We co-developed a prototype PAD template based on a systematic review of the content of PADs and a …
An International Comparison of Psychiatric Advance Directive Policy: Across eleven jurisdictions and alongside advance directive policy
The present work provides a comparative policy review of psychiatric advance directives, considering 1) variation across eleven international jurisdictions and 2) differentiation from other advance directive policy. The aim is to support well-founded legal and clinical practice when it comes to psychiatric advance directives by 1) clarifying the range of present approaches and 2) highlighting differential treatment of those with mental health con…
Establishing a peer advisory board in a mental health ethics research group – challenges, benefits, facilitators and lessons learned
While participatory methods are regarded as beneficial in many areas of psychiatric research, they are still rarely considered in the field of mental health ethics. Yet, there are several epistemic and ethical reasons why participatory research is particularly important in this field, such as the high relevance of experiential knowledge for ethical analyses. In this article, we report our experiences with establishing a peer advisory board for an…
Differential treatment of individuals with mental health conditions in high-consequence decision-making: A comparison of policy on advance directives and assisted suicide in three European countries
While both assisted suicide and advance directives relate to potentially high-consequence decision-making, the procedures for assisted suicide requests and expressing preferences through an advance directive typically place such processes outside of acute, emergency scenarios. These contexts allow for the decisions to be well-considered. As such, assisted suicide for individuals with mental health conditions and psychiatric advance directives pre…
Improving the Ethics Review of Qualitative Health Research: A Comparison of Review Practices and Suggestions for Improvement by Researchers and Members of Research Ethics Committees
Most qualitative health research is subject to ethics review and approval by a research ethics committee (REC). While many studies have identified the challenges that current ethics review practices pose to qualitative health research, there is currently a call to move the research focus from the shortcomings of ethics review practices to the possibilities for improvement. The aim of this grounded theory study was to identify possibilities for im…
Psychology (21 works) · Medicine (13 works) · Political science (12 works) · Healthcare Decision-Making and Restraints (11 works) · Psychiatry (11 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Mental health (8 works) · Qualitative research (8 works) · Law (7 works) · Social Psychology (7 works)