ADHD Drug Effectiveness on College Students

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a neurobehavioral developmental disorder. The specific cause of ADHD is not yet known. There are numerous known factors which may contribute to ADHD such as genetics, diet, and environment. The most common symptoms of ADHD are inability to pay attention, hyperactivity, becoming easily bored with a task after a few minutes, difficulty processing information quickly and impulsivity. ADHD is one of the most commonly diagnosed disorders in young children. This disorder is not one that only occurs in children but one that can also occur in adults.

The effectiveness of ADHD medication has been extensively researched in children but has very little information of the effectiveness in adults and college students. For this reason the Researchers at the University of Rhode Island and Lehigh University have started a study on the effectiveness of Vyvanse in college students with ADHD.

In this study of the effectiveness of Vyvanse will be tested on twenty-five college students diagnosed with ADHD. The students will undergo 5 stages of testing. In the first stage the students will set a baseline by not taking any medication. In the following stages a placebo and three different levels of medication will be administered to the students. The study will measure changes in attentiveness and social functioning of the students.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/165130.php

I found this article very interesting because I know multiple people, including myself, that are prescribed attention deficit medication and are college students. I feel that more research about adult ADHD needs to be done since the main focus of research is on children. This is why it is good to see that researchers are beginning to focus on adult ADHD now. I find that Adderall has greatly helped my ability to focus while I study so the results of this study will be very interesting to see.

Andrew Ritchey VTPP 434-502