The Prevalence And Overprescription Of Adhd Drugs

Below is a research paper about the prevalence and overprescription of ADHD drugs in the US. It highlights my ability to construct a logical, concise argument as well as my interest in writing about science for a larger audience. America s Need for Speed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, commonly referred to as ADHD, is the most commonly diagnosed mental disorder among minors in the United States according to the journal of Policy History (309). Treatment for ADHD as a mental illness involves behavioral conditioning and pharmacology, mainly the use of prescription amphetamines such as Ritalin, Adderall, and Vyvanse as a form of medication. Over the last twenty years, however, a horrifying and dramatic spike in the diagnosing†¦show more content†¦In order to understand the debate surrounding the controversy of ADHD and its treatment options, one needs to understand precisely what the disorder is and its history. ADHD has gone by several different labels since the early 1930s, such as Organic Drivenness, Hyperkinesis, and even Minimal Brain Damage Disorder (Mayes and Erkulwater 309). As scientific information about mental disorders progressed in the 20th century, so too did knowledge about ADHD . Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry states that by 1970, only 2000 American children were diagnosed with the disorder, yet the, standard method of treatment was behavior modification, not amphetamines (109). A social stigma surrounding mental disorders and pharmaceutical treatment still remained in the 1980s, particularly in regards to children. Lawsuits and negative media attention by the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Phil Donahue on the treatment for children with ADHD led to an almost, 40 percent decrease in the number of Ritalin prescriptions from 1988 to 1990 (Mayes and Erkulwater 313). As a result, the amount of children diagnosed with ADHD was not as high as the numbers we see today, nor was the use of amphetamines as common for treatment as it is currently. Within the next decade, however, the amount of prescriptions prescribed to children increased exponentially due to rising trends in culture and the availability of physicians to prescribe