College Students Faking ADHD to Obtain Stimulants
Posted on August 31, 2010Researchers have noticed a growing trend among college students that has raised prescription drug abuse to a new level: Some students have been found to feign ADHD symptoms in order to obtain prescriptions for stimulants such as Ritalin and Adderall. A new study published in the current issue of Psychological Assessment shows how prevalent the practice of faking ADHD may be among college-age adults.
Senior author of the study, David Berry, professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, describes how students can be quite successful in their attempts to fool clinical professionals. Berry, along with UK psychologist John Ranseen and graduate student Myriam Sollman, conducted an experiment to test how easy it was for healthy college students to fake ADHD symptoms and successfully pass clinical examinations for the disorder.
The researchers recruited 74 college students from the University of Kentucky to take a standard assessment for ADHD detection. The participants were divided into two groups: One group was instructed to respond to the test honestly, while the other group was instructed to make their best attempt to fake ADHD. The "faking" participants were permitted to review readily available information on ADHD and its symptoms by searching the Internet for five minutes prior to taking the assessment. They were also motivated to successfully pass the assessment with a financial incentive—the researchers would give the participants $45 if they passed the ADHD assessment (all participants were awarded the money at the conclusion of the study). As a control, the researchers also created a third group of students who were legitimately diagnosed with ADHD and had them take the same assessment.
For the ADHD assessment, the researchers used standard ADHD symptom checklists, neurocognitive tests, and symptom validity tests (SVTs), which are measures designed to detect feigned psychiatric and neurocognitive symptoms. After the participants completed the assessment, the researchers found that the "fakers" passed almost all of the measures for ADHD diagnosis. These normal, healthy students were able to feign their symptoms after being briefly coached with easily accessible information on ADHD prior to their exam. The "fakers" were particularly successful at faking their symptoms on the ADHD symptom checklists. The other ADHD tests showed moderate ability in detection of malingering, with the SVTs showing the best detection. Because the "fakers" were highly successful in feigning their symptoms, the researchers recommend that SVTs should always accompany clinical ADHD testing in order to avoid misdiagnoses, as well as thorough evaluation of patient’s emotional and cognitive medical history.
The study brings attention to a startling reality—why would anyone want to falsely be labeled with a behavioral disorder? Some people abuse the ADHD stimulant medications for recreational use; some may be searching for attention or sympathy; others use the stimulants to enhance their academic or professional performance; and some may engage in reselling the drugs to others. Furthermore, some college campuses provide special privileges to students diagnosed with the disorder, such as copies of professors’ lecture notes, extra time when taking exams or submitting assignments, or greater housing accommodations on campus.
ADHD is a legitimate debilitating disorder that affects thousands of children and adults across the U.S. The feigning of ADHD not only inhibits the available medical resources for ADHD treatment, but misuse of ADHD medication poses serious harm to people without the condition. Those who choose to abuse ADHD medications face the risk of severe adverse effects, such as increased anxiety, higher blood pressure, tachycardia, dependence, and even overdose.
Source: HealthDay, Some Fake ADHD to Get Meds, Special Treatment, August 27, 2010
