Latina mothers' stances on stimulant medication: Complexity, conflict, and compromise

• Published in: Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics Vol. 25; no. 5; pp. 311 - 317
• Main Authors: ARCIA, Emily, FERNANDEZ, Maria C, JAQUEZ, Marisela
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hagerstown, MD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 01-10-2004; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Ovid Technologies
• Subjects: Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders - drug therapy; Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders - psychology; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - drug therapy; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - psychology; Attitude to Health; Attitude towards mental illness; Attitudes; Behavior modification; Biological and medical sciences; Central Nervous System Stimulants - adverse effects; Central Nervous System Stimulants - therapeutic use; Child; Child Behavior Disorders - drug therapy; Child, Preschool; Children & youth; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Hispanic Americans; Hispanic Americans - psychology; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Mothers; Mothers - psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Set (Psychology); Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry; Social Support; Stimulants; Treatment Refusal - psychology; Human; CNS stimulant; Attitude; Hyperactivity; Psychotropic; Use; Latinamerican; Ethnic group; Behavioral disorder; Chemotherapy; Treatment; Attentional disorder; Mother; Child; Judgment
• ISSN: 0196-206X; 1536-7312
• DOI: 10.1097/00004703-200410000-00002

This study was undertaken to understand and describe Latina mothers' cognitions and attitudes toward the use of medication for their young children's behavior problems under the premise that these factors are determinants of noncompliance and inadequate adherence to medication treatments. Quantitative and qualitative data were extracted from a multimethod study of professional help seeking. Participants were 62 mothers from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. Findings indicated that mothers overwhelmingly preferred treatment options other than medication primarily because they understood medication to be addictive, dulling of cognitive processes, and inappropriate for behavior problems. Inadequate adherence was common and logically consistent with maternal cognitions. Maternal choices with respect to the use of medication were transactional and quite complex in nature and changed over time. The strongest agents in this process were schools and the mothers' immediate family. Implications for clinical practice are presented.