Are We Overmedicating Our Children?

Research Blog #1: “CDC: One in 13 Children Taking Psych Meds”

The New American published an article entitled “CDC: One in 13 Children Taking Psych Meds.” In this article, the argument is made that not only are an increasing number of children in the United States being prescribed psychiatric medication, but a substantial number of those children are being improperly medicated.

The article uses data from the Centers for Disease Control as the basis for their claim that the number of children medicated is growing. According to the article and the referenced data, in 2014, “7.5 percent of children between the ages of six and seventeen” were on psychiatric medication, which is a clear and substantial increase in prescriptions from the previous two decades.

The American Psychiatric Association then provides the data for the articles second claim, which is that children in the United States are being improperly diagnosed and therefore overmedicated. The Association released the information that “five percent of American children have ADHD, but studies reveal more than 11 percent of American children are diagnosed with the condition.”

The article may be short, but it makes hugely concerning claims. The article itself is fairly focused in on ADHD as a so-called epidemic being blown out of proportion and vastly overdiagnosed. However, it hints at larger concerns. If the statistics for diagnosis and prescriptions are so out of proportion for this one issue, how accurate are other diagnosis for similar cases? Is ADHD that difficult to diagnose, or is this article and referenced data revealing a larger issue amongst the prescription and use of psychiatric medications?

The article itself makes a decent, qualified argument. As it is a work intended for the public sphere, it is careful to make its point clear without casting too much doubt and clouding its argument. The data referenced is not embellished and the interpretations by the article’s author includes qualifications that acknowledge the limits of the data. The article remains largely objective, referencing statistics from reliable, well-known sources for the basis of the article. The claim comes from yet another source intended to come across as reliable, leaving the author of the article seemingly objective and just stating the facts. Overall, the article’s claim and reasoning are strong, leaving just hints that the issue could be wider than the provided data specifically states.

The possible number of incorrect diagnosis for our school-aged children is a concerning concept. The overuse of psychiatric medication is even more so. The United States seems to be suffering from a too large reliance on medications. People are becoming reliant on various little pills and syrups to solve their issues without stopping to consider what it is they are injecting into their bodies. The thought that these medications are being offered to children incorrectly makes the problem even more apparent. The medications prescribed can often have lasting effects even when used properly. Dosing our kids up based on quick and inaccurate judgements can have vast and lasting repercussions that so many people fail to consider, leading to data such as that referenced in the article. It is a frightening concept. Our kids don’t need to be drugged to the gills because they’re having a bad day; they need to be taught how to properly care for themselves and others.  We need to enable our children, not hinder them with wrongly prescribed drugs.