Many parents unaware their kids use ‘study drugs’ like Adderall

Many parents are not aware that their teens abuse study drugs, a new poll suggests.

In the poll, just 1 percent of parents said their children had taken drugs such as Adderall or Ritalin without a prescription.

That is much lower than the percentage of teens that surveys suggest are using the drugs. For example, a 2012 study found that about 10 percent of high school sophomores and 12 percent of high school seniors said they had used the drugs without a prescription.

The new finding highlights the growing issue of stimulant drug abuse, in which teens take stimulant medication to help them study for a test or stay awake to do homework. Such medications are prescribed for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Teens without the condition may obtain the drugs from friends or fake symptoms in order to get a prescription.

The new findings, from the C.S. Mott Childrens Hospital National Poll on Childrens Health, examined awareness of the issue, surveying parents of children age 13 to 17. About 11 percent said their teens had been prescribed stimulant medication for ADHD.

Among parents of children who were not prescribed ADHD medications, 1 percent said their teens had used these drugs for study purposes. About 4 percent said they didnt know if their teen had abused these drugs, and 95 percent said their teens had never abused the drugs.

This disconnect between teen behavior and parental awareness may in part be due to the fact that study drugs have more subtle effects than drugs such as heroin and cocaine, allowing teens to more easily hide their drug use, the researchers said.

About half of parents polled said they were very concerned about teens in their communities abusing study drugs. And more than three-quarters supported school policies aimed at stopping this type of drug abuse, such as rules that would require children with prescription ADHD medications to keep the pills in a secure place such as the school nurses office.

The findings underscore the need for greater communication among public health officials, schools, parents and teens regarding this issue, the researchers said.

Live Science

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Many parents unaware their kids use ‘study drugs’ like Adderall