Kids on ADHD Prescription Drugs 2x Likely to be Bullied: Study

Prescription drugs are meant to help a patient cope with a certain condition. However, a recent study has found that kids diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are twice likely to be bullied when they are given prescription drugs.

According to Reuters, it seems that the prescribed solution, or aid, to help these kids cope with their condition is the same prescription that gives them problems.

“Our findings show that there is some connection between a prescription for stimulant medications and bullying, even after accounting for the fact that adolescents with ADHD may have difficulties with peers or may have other problem behaviors associated with victimization,” the study's lead author Quyen Epstein-Ngo, a researcher at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, told the news outlet.

The study, published in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology, looked into the connection by following nearly 5,000 middle and high school students for four years.

The researchers found that about 15 percent of the surveyed students had been diagnosed with ADHD, and roughly 4 percent had been prescribed stimulants designed to help the kids.

About 20 percent of those who took medications said that they were, at some time, approached to sell or share the meds – and half of them did so.

Medicating students who sold, shared, or traded their medicines were found to be 4.5 times more likely to be bullied than those who did not have ADHD, and five times more likely to be bullied compared to those who were diagnosed with the condition, but were not prescribed drugs.

Massachussetts General Hospital child and adolescent psychiatry chief Dr. Timothy Wilens said it could be possible that the kids were bullied because of behavioral problems, and not necessarily due to the drugs.

“While medications can be very helpful for ADHD symptoms, they may also be associated with some behavioral adverse effects such as irritability,” Wilens, who wasn’t involved in the study, said. “Other children may react to this irritability... by bullying the child.”

Child and adolescent psychologist Dr. Wendy Moyal, from the Child Mind Institute in New York, told Health Day that "it's too early to assume that the bullying is related to the medication."

"I would recommend parents always speak to their doctor about any concerns they have about their child's medication," Moyal added.

Dr. Emma Sciberras of Deakin University in Melbourne added that the teens on prescription drugs might be suffering from more mental problems that make them a likely target for bullying.

“Children with ADHD who take medications represent a more severe and impaired group,” Sciberras, who wasn't involved in the study, said.