March 3, 2026

Psychostimulant medication for ADHD and socioeconomic status in Australia (2003–2022)

Key Points

ADHD medication prescriptions have reached national average levels in Australia, indicating a stable trend.
Youth from lower socioeconomic areas have slightly higher prescription rates, suggesting socioeconomic factors at play.
Observational analysis across Australia reveals a notable increase in prescriptions during the early COVID-19 period.
These patterns highlight the need for further exploration of socioeconomic influences on medication use.

Abstract

Standardised prescription levels in Australia are narrowing around the national average. Findings for both individual prescriptions and total dispensing are similar, providing little evidence for large quantum of drug use. Youth from lower socioeconomic regions are slightly more likely to be prescribed medication. Youth from the highest socioeconomic decile are now much more likely to be prescribed medication. The was an increase in prescription levels across the first 2 years of COVID-19. The drivers behind these changes are worthy of further research.

Bookmark

Cite This Study

Prosser et al. (Tue,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69a75a57c6e9836116a200b5 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/00048674251409910

Bookmark