In an Op-Ed piece in this Saturday’s (January 28, 2012) N.Y. Times, professor L. Alan Sroufe, Ph.D, professor emeritus, of psychology at the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development, asserted that stimulant medications are over prescribed, and more importantly fail to help children, in the long run. Dr. Sroufe offers a strongly worded critique of the use of stimulant medication. He argues that there is no evidence that stimulant medications result in long term gains in school achievement or reductions in behavior problems. He argues that while research clearly supports the short term benefits of stimulant medication, that this improvement is not lasting. He suggests that children acclimate to ADHD medications over time. Dr. Sroufe dismisses any studies suggesting that ADHD medications result in long term benefits, arguing that these studies are flawed methodologically. He then goes on to note that in 2009 the results of a long term study (still ongoing) conducted by himself and his colleagues found that while medication and medication plus therapy (two different treatment conditions they evaluated) showed benefits at 3 years, that at an 8 year follow up found that the positive benefits had “faded” and there was “no evidence” that medication produced any benefits in academic achievement or behavior.
Before we jump to the conclusion that ADHD medications are not working it is important to:
(1) more thoroughly and carefully examine both Dr. Stroufe’s findings and claims, as well as other research that does not support his work.
(2) remember that one study is not sufficient grounds for rejecting an established body of research supporting medication treatment.
In future articles I will offer a more in-depth discussion of Sroufe’s arguments, his research, and other research which challenge and reject his conclusions that stimulant medications are ineffective and greatly over prescribed.