I’ve come across quite a few parents who are convinced their kids have a chemical or psychological disorder that prevents them from concentrating, minding mom and dad, or following instructions. Some of these parents have actually gone to a doctor and requested a prescription drug such as Ritalin for their unruly child in order to address what’s commonly called ADHD – an “affliction” that’s now as common as the flu.

It may sound harsh, but I see a very different problem when I look at these kids: They act like self-centered brats who are simply responding to a lack of guidance and structure by parents obsessed with being their friend, not their parent.

Thus, I am surprised, but not shocked, at the results of this Duke University study which shows that some students at Duke and UNC Greensboro are illegally using ADHD drugs because they think it helps them study. From Duke Today:

Undergraduates who illegally use ADHD medication without a prescription say it’s worth the risk for one key benefit: enhancing their ability to study.

In a new study led by researchers from Duke University’s Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, more than 5 percent of students surveyed reported using ADHD medication without a prescription during the past six months. Nine percent reported doing this since beginning college.

The Web-based survey of 3,407 students was taken in spring 2007 at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and at Duke. Ninety percent of respondents who reported using the medication without a prescription during the past six months said enhancing the ability to study was the reason they most often took stimulant drugs such as Ritalin, Adderall and Concerta for nonmedical purposes. And nearly 90 percent of these students felt it was effective in helping them study.

Nonacademic motives, such as “to get high,” were far less common.

Using ADHD medication without a prescription was more common among students
who reported more frequent use of alcohol and other substances during the past six months. However, it was also more likely to occur among students who felt that concentration and attention was a problem for them. In fact, many of the students reporting illicit use had attention difficulties similar to students who reported a current diagnosis of ADHD.

Who knows what combination of motivations are at work here. I can’t help but think the growing ADHD crutch is part of the problem, along with the reality that too many students enter college unprepared for the rigors of study, reading, comprehension and analysis.