The rise of psychiatric drugs for kids

Last week, the PBS series Frontline aired its latest documentary, The Medicated Child. The program starts from the fact that some six million children in the United States are taking psychiatric drugs, yet we know very little about how these drugs work in children or how they affect developing brains.

It’s a remarkable—and often frightening—story that some aspiring medical anthropologist ought to write a dissertation about. Among the issues that deserve attention are the medicalization of normal childhood behavior, the influence of the pharmaceutical industry in child psychiatry, and the biological consequences of prescribing drugs that were not designed for kids.

You can watch the full program online. What other questions does it raise for you?

Special screening: Business of Being Born

This semester, I’m teaching a large (~650-student) undergraduate course titled Human Sexuality and Culture. I’m experimenting with a blog in that class, too, and some of you may want to stay tuned to what happens there.

For starters, I’ve just posted an announcement about a local screening of the new documentary, The Business of Being Born. Judging by the trailer, the film touches on many issues we dealt with in class last semester.

Hope over to the sexuality blog for more details.