American Kids Most Medicated
ScienceDaily (Sep. 25, 2008) — American children are approximately three times more likely to be prescribed psychotropic medication than children in Europe. A new study claims that the differences may be accounted for by regulatory practices and cultural beliefs about the role of medication in emotional and behavioral problems. A team of researchers from the USA, Germany and the Netherlands who investigated prescription levels in the three countries said, “Antidepressant and stimulant prevalence were three or more times greater in the US than in the Netherlands and Germany, while antipsychotic prevalence was 1.5 to 2.2 times greater”. One of the study authors concluded that, “Direct to consumer drug advertising, which is common in the US, is also likely to account for some of the differences. The increased use of medication in the US also reflects the individualist and activist therapeutic mentality of US medical culture”.
