| dc.description.abstract | Methylphenidate is a psychotropic substance used to treat children with Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Literature reports that there is a great
potential for methylphenidate to be abused among 10-14 years of children.
Therefore, this study aimed to assess the addiction to methylphenidate among
children with ADHD who are treated at Lady Ridgeway Hospital, Sri Lanka. A crosssectional
study was conducted using 96 participants. Guardians of 7-12 years of
children with a diagnosis of combined type ADHD who were treated with
methylphenidate for at least 12 months previously were included following
convenience sampling. An interview-based questionnaire was used to collect data
after the ethical approval. Descriptive analysis, ANOVA and the Pearson correlation
test were used to analyse data. According to the drug addiction screening test, the
majority of the population (51%) showed a moderate level of addiction to
methylphenidate. Male children diagnosed with ADHD were 67.7% while female
children were 32.3%. A statistically significant positive correlation was observed
between an increase in the initial dose and drug addiction (r=0.289, p=0.004). These
findings reveal that with the increase in the dose, there is a greater propensity for
an addiction to be present. Further, a child requesting a higher frequency of the dose
shows a positive statistically significant association (r=0.426, p=0.000). This study
concluded that there is a possibility of addiction to methylphenidate among children
with ADHD. Further investigations on methylphenidate abuse are recommended.
All participants in therapy and their guardians need to be educated about the abuse
potential of methylphenidate. | en_US |
