The use of psycho-pharmaceuticals to control boys’ behaviour : a tale of badly behaving drug companies and doctors

Abstract EN

There has been a rapid rise in rates of diagnosis of, and prescription of psycho-pharmaceuticals for, behavioral disorders in children in general, and boys in particular, in North American, North European and Australasian countries.

This article concentrates on the evidence base for the prescription of psycho-pharmaceuticals for the two most common of these disorders : ADHD and Autism.

The practice of widespread prescribing is based more on successful marketing than scientific evidence.

Arab and other non-Western societies can learn from these mistakes and take a more cautious approach before accepting the validity of these diagnoses and the benefits of prescribing medication to ‘treat’ them.