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Psychological Problems of the Child and His Family pp 413–426Cite as

The Role of Drugs in the Treatment of Disturbed Children

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Abstract

Few topics have created as much controversy among psychiatrists as the role of drugs in the treatment of disturbed children. Some physicians have claimed that psychopharmacological agents, if they function as more than placebos, do so as chemical straightjackets for troublesome children and in fact only retard the recognition of true psychopathology within the individual child or his family. Others have claimed that drugs are the only causal remedies for psychological disturbances as they act upon the brain, which is seen as the ultimate site of behavioural pathology.

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Recommended For Further Reading

  1. BARKER, P., and FRASER, I.A. “A Controlled Trial of Haloperidol in Children”. Brit. J. Psychiat. 114: 855–57, 1968. —a good study demonstrating the efficacy of haloperidol in reducing specific target symptoms.

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  2. CONNELL, P.H.; CORBETT, J.A.; HORNE, D.J.; and MATTHEWS, A.M. “Drug Treatment of Adolescent Tiqueurs: A Double-Blind Trial of Diazepam and Haloperidol”. Brit. J. Psychiat. 113: 375–81, 1967.

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  3. DAVIS, K.V.; SPRACUE, R.L.; and WERRY, J.S. “Stereotyped Behavior and Activity Level in Severe Retardates: The Effect of Drugs”. Amer. J. Ment. Def. 73: 721–27, 1968–69. —discusses ways in which drugs can be used to decrease behaviour that complicates management of the severely retarded.

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  4. EISENBERC, L. “Principles of Drug Therapy in Child Psychiatry with Special Reference to Stimulant Drugs”. Amer. J. Orthopsychiat. 41: 371–79, 1971. —notes that drugs can be useful to the healthy development of children if given appropriately, as a part of the total treatment plan. Suggests principles for the use of stimulant drugs with children and discusses four problem areas.

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  5. FISH, B.; SHAPIRO, T.; and CAMPBELL, M. “Long-Term Prognosis and the Response of Schizophrenic Children to Drug Therapy: A Controlled Study of Trifluoperazine”. Am. J. Psychiat. 123: 32–39, 1966–67. —a good example how dose variation and initial severity are important variables for drug studies.

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  6. FISH, B. “The ‘One Child, One Drug’ Myth of Stimulants in Hyperkinesis: Importance of Diagnostic Categories in Evaluating Treatment”. Arch. Gen. Psychiat. 25: 193–203, 1971. —rejects the oversimplified myth that there is only one type of “hyperactive” child and that stimulants are the best drugs for such children. Stresses the need to distinguish between diagnoses which define the type of total personality disorder and those which define major developmental symptoms (including hyperactivity).

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  7. FREEMAN, R.D. “Review of Medicine in Special Education: Another Look at Drugs and Behaviour”. J. Spec. Educ. 4: 377–84, 1970. —an excellent short summary of present-day knowledge of psychopharmacological treatment in children.

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  8. GRINSPOON, L, and SINGER, S.B. “Amphetamines in the Treatment of Hyperkinetic Children”. Harvard Educational Review 43: 515–55, 1973. —reviews research and conflicting findings on the effects of amphetamines on hyperactive children. Urges reconsideration of amphetamine administration policy in our schools today because of their unknown long-term risks and possible adverse effects.

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  9. MINDE, K. A Parents’ Guide to Hyperactivity in Children. Quebec Association for Children with Learning Disabilities, Montreal, P.Q., 1971 —a booklet which explains the syndrome and the management of such children to parents. Easy reading. Available through the Association at: Suite 8, 4820 Van Home Ave., Montreal H3W 1J3 ($1.00).

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  10. MINDE, K.; WEISS, G.; and MANDELSON, N. “A Five-Year Follow-Up Study of Ninety-One Hyperactive School Children”. J. Amer. Acad. Child Psychiat. 11, 3: 595–610, 1972. —gives latest results of the outcome of various drugs regimes in hyperactive children.

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  14. TISCHLER, B. PATRIASZ, K; BERESFORD, J.; and BUNTING, R. “Experience with Pericyazine in Profoundly and Severely Retarded Children”. Canad. Med. Assoc. J. 106: 136–41, 1972. —good article showing the efficacy of high doses of Neuleptil in the behaviour control of retarded children.

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  15. WEISS, G.; KRUGER, E.; DANIELSON, E.; and ELMAN, M. “Effect of Long-Term Treatment of Hyperactive Children with Methylphenidate”. Canad. Med. Assoc. J. 112: 159–65, 1975. —this study presents the behavioural and cognitive outcome of hyperactive children who were treated with medication in comparison with an untreated group.

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Additional Reading

  1. FISH, B., and SHAPIRO, T. “A Typology of Children’s Psychiatric Disorders. 1: Its Application to a Controlled Evaluation of Treatment”. J. Amer. Acad. Child Psychiat. 4: 32–52, 1965.

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  2. FISH, B. “Drug Use in Psychiatric Disorders of Children”. Amer. J. Psychiat. 124–1: 31–36, 1967–68.

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Authors
  1. Klaus Minde
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Canada

    Paul D. Steinhauer (Associate Professor and Director of Training in Child Psychiatry, Senior Staff Psychiatrist) & Quentin Rae-Grant (Professor of Child Psychiatry, Psychiatrist-in-Chief) (Associate Professor and Director of Training in Child Psychiatry, Senior Staff Psychiatrist) &  (Professor of Child Psychiatry, Psychiatrist-in-Chief)

  2. Hospital for Sick Children, Canada

    Paul D. Steinhauer (Associate Professor and Director of Training in Child Psychiatry, Senior Staff Psychiatrist) & Quentin Rae-Grant (Professor of Child Psychiatry, Psychiatrist-in-Chief) (Associate Professor and Director of Training in Child Psychiatry, Senior Staff Psychiatrist) &  (Professor of Child Psychiatry, Psychiatrist-in-Chief)

Copyright information

© 1977 Macmillan Publishers Limited

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Minde, K. (1977). The Role of Drugs in the Treatment of Disturbed Children. In: Steinhauer, P.D., Rae-Grant, Q. (eds) Psychological Problems of the Child and His Family. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-81464-0_23

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