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Annotated Bibliography

Are medications being overprescribed to treat ADHD/ADD?

Jack Hanley

Professor Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104

23 October 2018
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Annotated Bibliography

Aubrey, Allison. “Misuse of ADHD Drugs By Young Adults Drives Rise In ER Visits.” NPR,
NPR, 16 Feb. 2016,
www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/02/16/466947829/of-adhd-drugs-linked-to-increased-er-
hospital-visits-study-finds.

This article is an academic article written by a reliable source in Allison Aubrey. Allison

Aubrey is a writer for NPR or National Public Radio. This article is about the harm that

prescriptions drugs such as Adderall and Ritalin have on young kids today. Aubrey uses a survey

and other pieces of statistical information to display her message. The article talks about how

kids today are using these drugs to give them an enhancement when they are trying to study or

do their homework. This has become a problem all around the United States because it is illegal

to sell prescription drugs and it is not safe as many kids have been rushed to the hospital. The

number of ER visits between 2006 and 2011 has almost doubled which is alarming and almost an

epidemic. The source NPR is a very reliable source and for over a few decades NPR has

provided the U.S with important and newsworthy information. The fact that NPR has been

around for almost 50 years goes to show the validity of their information. Allison Aubrey is one

of their most well-known and talented writer and figure in their company. The intended audience

for this particular article is parents of kids with ADHD or just parents with kids in general. This

will be an article with an audience of an older population who have a role in taking care of

children. This source is an important source because it talks about the harm of these particular

drugs that are being used to treat ADHD. This source was helpful but not as helpful as the others.

It was helpful to give me a foundation in the idea of the harm that Adderall and Ritalin has on the

body. Although the article failed to talk about the drugs specific effects is touched on the increase

on ER visit which inevitably shows that the drug brings great harm. This source will appear in
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my work to further prove my point that these medications are overprescribes especially

considering the dangers that the drugs bring.

Morash-Conway, J., Gendron, M. & Corkum, P. ADHD Atten Def Hyp Disord
September 31. 2017
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12402-016-0204-7

The academic journal article “The role of sleep quality and quantity in moderating the

effectiveness of medication in the treatment of children with ADHD” is a piece of the journal

“ADHD Attention deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders.” This source talks about how sleep

quality can be used to determine how well medication is working for ADHD. The source

preformed a huge test with the technology that was able to tell the scientist how much the

ADHD medication effects the children sleep quality, sleep duration, ability to memorize terms,

preform in school, and the children’s ability to perform cognitive task. This specific journal

excerpt is all about how the ADHD medication effects children suffering with ADHD. More

specifically the journal touches on the way medication alters their life. Overall, is the

medication more helpful than nothing alone? These results are very helpful to understand the

full effects of the medication and better increase our knowledge on whether or not these

medications can be less of a need for people with ADHD. More and more research has been

done on this topic because these medications are very addicting, the most minimal use possible

the better. All of the authors of this academic article are very reliable authors. Jessica Morash-

Conway works for the Department of Child and Youth Study for Mount Saint Vincent

University in Halifax, Canada. Melissa Gendron and Penny Corkum work for the department

of Psychology and Neuroscience at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada and Penny

Corkum is on the Colchester East Hants Health Authority in Truro, Canada. Their information

gathered in the article is very reliable because it is reflected in an academic journal and written
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by 3 well known people of the psychological field. Also, their information is a result of a test

that they conducted, therefore their information talks about their results in their study. This

article is a journal, which is a part of a larger academic journal titled in ADHD. The intended

audience for this academic journal are people studying psychology our neuroscience or parents

of kids with ADHD or kids with ADHD themselves. This academic journal is the only source

of mine that has information backed up by a study conducted by the authors. This makes my

information very reliable because the authors are very well-known and respected. This source

was very helpful, and it will most definitely appear in my topic because it has information that

can’t be argued. There is important information in this academic journal that will help me

prove my point because the information is a real-life test on how medication effects these kids

and adults struggling with ADHD. The information didn’t change my opinion about the topic

because all of the information is what I expected. This academic journal better shaped my

understanding behind the effects of the drugs and it was a source for statistical information

about the topic.

Rice, Sabriya. “ADHD Medication Might Be Overprescribed in the U.S.” Modern

Healthcare, 18 Mar. 2014,
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20140318/NEWS/303189948.

This article written by Dr. Sabriya Rice, is an article that speaks on the enormous increase

in the amount of ADHD prescriptions being prescribed. Dr. Rice uses facts and statistics to

convey her message. She talks about the harm that these drugs may have on children and adults,

when they aren’t necessarily needed in every circumstance. She touches on the increase of

spending on drugs such as Adderall and others. She also talks about the difference between he

prescriptions prescribed to women and to men, stating that females especially have seen a more

rapid increase in the use of the drug than men. In the latter half of the article, Dr. Rice goes in
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depth about how to deal with an addiction to these prescribed pills. The author is a very reliable

source because she is a doctor and has received her PhD. The author didn’t show in signs of

being biased and that is likely because she is talking more about how factual information rather

than opinion-based information. This information is reliable because it is coming from an

academic source led by a doctor with a PhD. The purpose for this article is to inform people of

the dangers of ADHD medication and medication in general. This article is intended for parents

of kids struggling with ADHD or kids who have ADHD researching for themselves. The

information gathered by Dr. Rice will serve well in my paper because it is mainly statistical

information. Information that can’t be argued. This information will enhance my argument in my

paper because it is statistical information that bakes up my case. This source was very helpful

because it increased my knowledge greatly on the statistics of the users per gender and age. This

source will definitely appear in my project because it will serve as statistical information to back

up my argument. This will strengthen my side of the argument greatly and it will make it easier

for me to display what I think about the situation.