The ethics of Ritalin-type drug treatments to modify behaviour: Children join the debate Seminar
- Time:
- 16:00 - 17:00
- Date:
- 23 January 2014
- Venue:
- Psychology Department Building 44 (Shackleton) Highfield Campus Southampton SO17 1BJ
For more information regarding this seminar, please telephone Allyson Marchi on 02380 599645 or email A.Marchi@soton.ac.uk .
Event details
Does stimulant drug treatment turn young people into docile zombies? Does Ritalin encourage children to 'blame the brain' rather than to take responsibility for their behaviour?
Does stimulant drug treatment turn young people into docile zombies? Does Ritalin encourage children to 'blame the brain' rather than to take responsibility for their behaviour? This talk reports on findings from the Wellcome Trust-funded VOICES study (Voices on Identity, Childhood, Ethics & Stimulants), which involved interviews with over 150 young people in the US and the UK.
Findings from the study suggest little empirical evidence for some key bioethical claims about the harms of stimulant drug treatments. However, more attention should be paid to the role of the environment in defining behavioural and cognitive norms, and in mediating children's capacity for self-control.
Speaker information
Professor Ilina Singh , Kings College London. Ilina Singh is Professor of Science, Ethics & Society in SSHM, and is cross-appointed to the Institute of Psychiatry. Her work examines the psycho-social and ethical implications of advances in biomedicine and neuroscience for young people and families.