According to a recent study published in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry And Mental Health, American children are approximately 3 times more likely to be medicated with psychotropic drugs for emotional or mood disorders, than European children.
The research, which was led by Professor Julie Zito of the University of Maryland at Baltimore, examined the medical history and records of approximately 600,000 children in the United States, the Netherlands, and Germany. The children ranged in age from newborns to 19 years old.
The research found that approximately 6.7% of American children had been subscribed a psychotropic medication. In the Netherlands, the percentage was only 2.9%; while only 2% of German children had been prescribe such medications. The researchers noted that the use of antidepressant medications and stimulants were much more popular in the United States than in the European countries examined and the study. Additionally, the study showed that American children are far more likely to be prescribed antipsychotic medication than their European counterparts.
While the University of Maryland study did not offer any theories why American children are more often medicated for emotional and mood related disorders, other experts have been speaking out about the emergence of the American “pill culture,” especially as it applies to young children.
For example, it has been pointed out that the direct to consumer marketing of prescription medication (the US is one of only two countries in the world to allow this practice) could be partially responsible for the higher percentage of medicated children.
However, at least one cross-national study carried out in United States and Canada determined that all those “ask your doctor” direct-to-consumer prescription drug adverts have little if any affect on sales.
Other experts point out cultural differences in the United States that cause American doctors to prescribe more mood altering drugs to patients. The individualistic nature of American society is often blamed for this phenomenon. While in most European countries, individualism is downplayed and social interaction and cooperation is viewed as a virtue, American culture still has some all of the “cowboy mentality,” or the tendency for individuals to “go it alone.” Mental health experts point out the increased stress of living in such a society, and offer this as one explanation why Americans tend to be more medicated than their European counterparts.
But regardless of the reasons why, to many physicians, the University of Maryland study suggests that American doctors may be over medicating the nation’s children, and consumer surveys show that a majority of Americans believe that the country in general is being over medicated — both children and adults.
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