Final answer:
The U.S. government developed the HHS guidelines to establish more specific regulations protecting human subjects in research, following historical ethical violations like the Tuskegee syphilis study.
The correct option is c.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding the Development of Ethical Guidelines in U.S. Government Research
The U.S. government developed the HHS guidelines in response to past unethical practices in research involving human subjects. Incidents like the Tuskegee syphilis study, where the control group was not treated for the disease, led to public outrage and the recognition of the need for more comprehensive protective measures in scientific research.
As a result, Congress passed legislation in 1974 to ensure the protection of human subjects, which included the necessity of informed consent. This highlighted a shift from the inadequate guidelines of that time and showed a commitment to preventing the recurrence of such ethical violations in the future.
In the context of the question posed, the development of the HHS guidelines does not directly relate to the APA guidelines being insufficient, researchers not adhering to ethical principles, or the Belmont Report being outdated, but rather to the necessity for more specific regulations that address the protection of human subjects in research. The ethical principles were crafted by the American Sociological Association (ASA) to prevent such breaches and ensure that sociology researchers do not cross boundaries that threaten human rights in the course of their studies.
The correct option is c.