Attributions of Children with Learning Disabilities Who are Treated with Psychostimulants

Abstract

Henker and Whalen (1989) suggested that there is support for the hypothesis that improvements in children's academic performance are the result of enhanced willingness to assume responsibility to exert effort. Psychotropic medication has been a major treatment regimen for children who exhibit problem behavior in the classroom. However, children who are medicated may report less personal responsibility for academic outcomes. Therefore, the attributions for academic situations may differ for LD children receiving stimulant treatment and those who are not. Two intact groups were studied, one receiving medication and one not receiving medication. Using the Intellectual Academic Responsibility Questionnaire (Crandall, Katovsky, & Crandall, 1965), we assessed whether LD boys who were taking medication reported fewer adaptive attributions in academic situations than their nonmedicated peers. Discriminant analysis revealed an approximately 86% correct classification of medication status. Boys who were not taking medication reported more internal-effort attributions in failure situations than boys who were taking medication. This result was replicated 8 weeks later. Behavior therapists who conduct evaluations for educational programming need to consider the possible relationship between children's academic attributions and stimulant medication status.