Research in mental retardation: underreporting of medication information

Estimates of psychoactive drug use among persons residing in community and institutional settings suggest high prevalence rates. Psychoactive drug use has been associated with impairments in adaptive functioning. As a result, drug-induced effects may represent potential confounds that need to be considered when evaluating treatment outcomes. Consequently, information about drug regimens should be reported in empirical investigations. In this investigation, a review of six applied research and special education journals over an 11-year period was conducted to determine the extent to which information about drug regimens of participants was provided. It was determined that only slightly more than 3% of the articles reported information about subject medication usage and only 1.5% reported information relating to the use of medications as independent variables. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for recommending that providing information about drug regimens should become standard practice when describing subjects.