Abstract—Objective: The aim of this study is to compare
archival data on psychostimulant prescriptions for youth aged
birth to 18 years in two Australian jurisdictions since 2000.
Methods: a person-based data set was used to assess: (i) growth
in new prescriptions; (ii) male: female ratios; (iii) mean start
age; (iv) mean durations of use. Results: A previous study of
7,489 youths in South Australia was compared with a study of
69,944 youths in New South Wales to find: (i) a steady increase
in new prescriptions; (ii) a decline in male: female ratios; (iii)
opposing trends in mean start ages; and (iv) convergence in
mean durations of use around 2.0 years. Conclusions: Australia
appears to be following the United States in trends of
psychostimulant use for ADHD and more research is needed
into specific patterns in duration of use, as well as if similar
barriers to accessing multi-modal support are being
experienced.
Index Terms—Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,
demographics, duration, psychostimulant use.
B. J. Prosser is with the Centre for Research and Action in Public Health
at the University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT 2601 Australia (e-mail:
Brenton.Prosser@canberra.edu.au).
R. C. Reid is with the Faculty of Special Education and Communication
Disorders at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583-0738 USA (email:
rreid2@unl.edu).
M. C. Lambert is with Special Education and Communication Disorders
at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583-0738 USA (e-mail:
matthew.lambert@unl.edu).
[PDF]
Cite: Brenton J. Prosser, Robert C. Reid, and Matthew C. Lambert, "Patterns in Psychostimulant Use for ADHD across Two
Australian Jurisdictions (2000-2011)," Journal of Economics, Business and Management vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 251-256, 2014.