Psychotropic medication with children: an evaluation of procedural biases in results of reported studies

A review was conducted of 753 studies on the effects of drugs on learning or behavior in children published between January 1937 and March 1971. The studies were arranged in categories based on research design, measures of behavior change, and whether clinical results were reported as significant. The analysis of these studies suggests that research design and the measure of behavior change exert a biasing influence on the degree of reported efficacy of the psychotropic medications. These factors should be taken into account when interpretations of published reports are used to decide upon treatment plans with such medications.