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ERIC ED537915: ADHD--To Medicate or Not? Research Brief
by ERIC
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What does the research indicate are the effects of
medicating or not medicating adolescents with ADHD? Many
parents and health care providers are rethinking and
questioning the long-term effects of medication on
children. Whether or not to medicate adolescents with
ADHD is a conundrum that many parents face. Some parents
believe their child will grow out of it, others feel that
living a healthy lifestyle is the answer, while a number
of parents are certain that medication will help.
Research shows that there is not single right answer. In
a study of 53 adults with ADHD who had never received
medication to treat it, and 44 adults that did not have
ADHD, it was found that those with ADHD had lower levels
of dopamine receptors and transporters. These affect a
person's attention and motivation levels and their
response to rewards. It was suggested that those with low
dopamine levels might be more prone to drug abuse and
over eating because these things can stimulate the reward
receptors. A recent study of elementary school students
with ADHD showed that those who had taken medication for
the condition appeared to score 2.9 points higher in math
and 5.4 higher in reading than their peers who had not
taken medication. In other research, it was found that
there was on average, a three-year developmental delay in
the frontal cortex among students with ADHD. Two other
studies offer some guidance. In one study it was reported
that as people who have ADHD age, there is more of a
tendency to voluntarily stop taking medication, taking it
sporadically or over medicating. The second study
reported that the longer a stimulant was taken, the less
effective it became. More than 60% stopped taking their
medication within eight years while 20% did not benefit
from stimulants. (Contains 17 online resources.)
Date Published: 2016-03-09 09:16:20
Identifier: ERIC_ED537915
Item Size: 2204353
Language: english
Media Type: texts
# Topics
ERIC Archive; Adolescents; Developmen...
# Collections
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@chris85
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