Prescription drug use rises on campus

An increase over the last decade in the rate of prescription drug usage among Tufts students mirrors a national trend in college campuses.

Nationally there has been a rise in teens that are prescribed mental health drugs. In response to demand, Tufts Health Services has broadened its range of psychiatric services, providing inceasing amounts of medication and therapy.

According to Director of Tufts Health Services Michelle Bowdler, Health Services wrote 7,000 prescriptions last year, including those for ADD/ADHD and depression. Though she could not offer previous years' statistics, Bowdler said that the number of prescriptions has increased.

According to Time magazine, a 2001 survey of college mental health counselors revealed that the percentage of students treated at college counseling centers who have been prescribed psychotropic drugs has increased from 7 percent in 1992 to 18 percent in 2001.

In addition, 85 percent of North American student counseling centers have reported an increase in students with "severe psychological problems," the director of the counseling center at Texas State University told Time magazine.

Clinicians point to a number of possible reasons for this increase in drug usage, including increased stress and an increased awareness of mental health problems.

"Easier access to prescription medication may also be a factor," Bowdler said. "All these little pieces might have some truth, but there is never just one answer to this question."

Medical insurance also pays more readily for pills than it does for more costly and time-consuming cognitive/behavioral therapy. It also favors doctors not specializing in psychiatry or psychopharmacology since such doctors will be likely to provide much less extensive evaluation and follow-up of their patients.

Health Services could not say whether or not the rate of "talk therapy" (traditional counseling) has seen a comparable increase over the past few years. "Research has proven that medicine and talk therapy in combination has been most effective," said Bowdler. "However, it is ultimately the right of the patients to decide which one to use."

A junior who spoke on the condition of anonymity reported that she feels a combination of talk therapy and drugs are the best solution. "Neither one on its own helps me cope [with my disease]"

Statistics would seem to support this view. As the rate of prescription drug usage on campuses has increased, the overall reported college suicide rate has gone down from 122 students in 2000 to 80 in 2001, although this might also be attributed to an increase in campus mental health professionals and their increased efforts to diagnose problems early on and treat them aggressively.

However, some fear that prescriptions are favored over traditional counseling. "What about the long term effects of drug reliance?" asked Freshman Sara Eisler. "They only worsen your personal ability to deal with problems the natural way, which will in turn cause even greater dependence on drugs, which will hurt you even more in the end. It's a vicious cycle whose effects you should really think about before deciding to enter."

Some see this rise in drug usage as positive, while others are less enthusiastic. "It's great that medical technology has improved so that more solutions are now available to help people deal with their problems," freshman Lala Ma.