Psychotropics Not Overused in Adolescents, Data Show

The study by Merikangas and colleagues has its drawbacks, including the use of data that is a decade old, the reliance on self-report of "deeply personal issues" that patients and their parents may not admit to, and the use of a study population that was heavily skewed toward higher-income families, said Dr. David Rubin.

The findings may not be generalizable to Medicaid recipients, who constitute one-third to one-half of all children in many regions of the country. These patients are far less likely to receive comprehensive mental health evaluations and far more likely to be given quick prescriptions rather than nonpharmacologic treatment options available to higher-income families, he said.

Dr. Rubin is in the policy lab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and in the department of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. He reported no conflicts of interest. These remarks were taken from his editorial accompanying Dr. Merikangas’ report (Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med. 2012 Dec. 3 [doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.433]).