title: ADHD in the college student: is anyone else worried?
abstract: The illegal, non-prescriptive use of prescription stimulants appears to be growing among college students. Recent analyses using DSM-IV criteria suggest that this group of misusers may actually represent cases of undiagnosed ADHD. Such analyses, however, are limited by a diagnostic system that is neither contextural nor dimensional. The ADHD symptoms of the newly diagnosed college student may be highly context and time specific and represent a normal response to temporarily increased demands on intellect and motivation. Diagnosing college students who are misusing stimulants with ADHD runs the risk of further trivializing the ADHD diagnosis. Also from a historical perspective, legitimizing the use of prescription stimulants in this age group may unintentionally only further increase the likelihood of a greater prescription stimulant abuse epidemic.
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA. lawrence.diller@ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Lawrence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Diller
mesh_terms: D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants