ADHD Overdiagnosis, Ritalin, and Big Pharma Pressure
This essay responds to a New York Times article by Schwartz and Cohen (2013) on the growing number of ADHD diagnoses in children and teenagers. The paper argues that profit-motivated doctors, pressure from pharmaceutical companies, and parental avoidance of behavioral interventions all contribute to hasty and potentially unwarranted ADHD diagnoses. The author links premature pharmacological treatment to broader issues of prescription drug abuse and the mixed cultural messages young people receive about drug use. The essay calls for more careful, holistic diagnostic practices before resorting to medications such as Ritalin.
- Introduction: The Rise of ADHD Diagnoses: Context for rising ADHD diagnoses in youth
- Pharmaceutical Industry Influence on Diagnosis: Big pharma and profit pressure on doctors
- Ritalin as a Performance-Enhancing Drug and Prescription Abuse: Ritalin misuse and links to drug abuse
- Parenting, Discipline, and the Easy Way Out: Medication as substitute for proper parenting
- Mixed Messages About Drug Use in American Society: Cultural contradictions in drug stigma and prescribing
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What makes this paper effective
- The essay clearly connects a specific news article to broader societal patterns, grounding personal opinion in a recognizable public source.
- Each paragraph develops a distinct line of argument — pharmaceutical pressure, performance enhancement, parenting failures, and mixed cultural messaging — keeping the essay organized and progressive.
- The author's voice is direct and confident, making the critique of the medical establishment and pharmaceutical industry accessible and persuasive.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates source-based argumentation: using a single journalistic source (Schwartz & Cohen, 2013) as a springboard to build a multi-layered critical analysis. Rather than summarizing the article, the student uses it as evidence to support independently developed claims about systemic pharmaceutical influence and cultural attitudes toward drug use.
Structure breakdown
The essay follows a classic five-paragraph expository structure. It opens with context and a thesis, then devotes one paragraph each to pharmaceutical industry influence, performance-enhancement and drug abuse, parenting failures, and finally the broader social contradiction of stigmatizing recreational drug use while freely prescribing stimulants. The conclusion calls for holistic reform of diagnostic practices.
Introduction: The Rise of ADHD Diagnoses
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has become a relatively common diagnosis. Most young people know someone with the diagnosis, if they have not themselves been diagnosed. The article "More Diagnoses of A.D.H.D. Causing Concern," published in The New York Times, highlights the growing concerns surrounding the increase in ADHD diagnoses in children and teens. While there are certainly children who legitimately have ADHD, some doctors are rushing through the evaluation and screening processes and making the diagnosis haphazardly.
Pharmaceutical Industry Influence on Diagnosis
The reasons for jumping to a diagnosis of ADHD are varied but relatively straightforward. Many doctors are profit-motivated and simply want to make their clients happy by bowing to what Schwartz & Cohen (2013) describe as "pressure" from parents. Doctors have long maintained close relationships with the large pharmaceutical companies that manufacture drugs like Ritalin, which is prescribed for ADHD. When big pharma wants to sell more drugs, these companies encourage doctors to make diagnoses that warrant prescribing those drugs. Doctors are, in effect, all but bribed through perks and incentives cultivated within the marketing relationship between physicians and the pharmaceutical industry. Journalists like Schwartz & Cohen (2013) are therefore exposing a real problem in American society. The problem does not stop with ADHD; there are many instances in which Americans rush to pharmacological solutions for problems that could be better addressed through lifestyle changes, attitude changes, or social changes.
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