This study seeks to understand an article in psychological research in terms of its methodology and design. Two articles were chosen for the study with the main one being the article by National Institute of Mental Health (NHIM) called “Continued Use of Stimulants for ADHD Likely Does Not Increase Risk for Hypertension, but May Affect Heart Rate” while the other article that was chosen was by the same institution and was called “Preschoolers with ADHD Improve with Low Doses of Medication” and was used for comparison purposes.
For the first article, an experimental study had been carried out and it hence was a summary of the experiment as well as the results obtained.
The type of research design that was primarily used in the study was experimental study in which measurements were made at the beginning of the study, intervention was then introduced and thereafter measurements were taken at different timeframes so as to check for any changes that could have resulted.
The hypothesis of the study was that chronic use of stimulant medication to treat attention deficient hyperactive disorder (ADHD) in children did not result to high blood pressure in the long-run but could have been associated with increase in heart rate.
To test the hypothesis, children with the ADHD condition were randomly chosen and then subjected to different treatments, some on medication and others on non-medication methods of treating the condition, acting as the control group. Data was collected at different stages of the treatments and then it was used for comparison to test the hypothesis. The subjects of the study were young children below teenage who possessed the ADHD condition.
The variables that were being used in the study included two independent variables namely the stimulant treatment, which was the medication being administered to the children with ADHD, and non-medication or community care, which is an option for treatment of ADHD condition.
The dependent variables that were being considered for the study and whose measurements were used for determination of the success of the study and to test the hypothesis included the heart rate, which is the average number of times the heart beats per minute, and blood pressure, which is basically the medical measurement of the pressure of blood circulating in the body.
The study was aimed at determining whether there were significant changes in the two dependent variables in the application of the two methods of treatment of ADHD condition.
The control group for the study was the group of children with ADHD condition that was subjected to non-medical or community care, which is an alternative method of treatment of the condition. This method is believed to be one of the treatments for the condition though it is slow and its effects are only noticed in the long-run.
However, it is a very safe method that does not have any side effects. Since the study sought to understand if there was any significant difference in heart rate and blood pressure in the use of medicated treatment of the condition, this group would act as a control since not much difference would be expected on these variables especially since natural methods were the ones being used for treatment.
There are different ethical issues that are considered in carrying out any research involving human subjects so as to endure it is ethical. First of all, any research should take the interests of the subjects as its first priority rather than the common norm where researchers aim for results and forget the interests of the subjects.
A research must also ensure that there is voluntary participation for the subjects and hence no one would be compelled to participate or be used as a subject in the research without their knowledge that they are actually participating in a research.
Also, the rule of informed consent must be followed such that the subjects would be clearly informed and made to understand all the experiences they would encounter during the research as well as any probable danger that might arise in case of any errors during the research. Only then are the subjects allowed to chose for themselves whether they wish to continue as subjects in the research or not.
Since most researches involve collection of personal information relating to the subjects, there is a need for the researchers to ensure confidentiality of the information offered so as to protect the interests of the subjects. In the same manner, anonymity is an important factor to consider during a research in such a manner that all views and results would be treated in such a manner that the subjects are anonymous and their identity is not revealed during the study.
This study on children with ADHD followed ethical discipline since the parents of the children had been well informed of the situation of their children and the procedure would be taken during the research. They must have gotten into the research with an informed consent.
The study also has been careful to keep privacy of the subjects and maintain their anonymity since it does not get any personal on the subjects and does not reveal the identity of any of them. It just generalizes the information obtained and categorizes it into the two main groups, the one that undertook medicated treatment and the one that undertook non-medical treatment.
The results obtained from analyzing the data collected from the research gave clear evidence that compelled the researcher to conclude that continuous use of stimulants used to treat the ADHD condition did not result to high blood pressure or any related cardiovascular condition.
It however caused an increased heart rate, though this rate remained within the normal range of heart rate. Since the data used for the study was collected over a period of ten years, then it is clear that the data was sufficient and hence provided reliable information after analysis. Further, the samples used for the subjects were obtained though random methods hence the data did not contain any biasness. Hence, the study is sufficient enough to offer such conclusions as indicated by the researcher.
Works Cited
NIMH. Continued Use of Stimulants for ADHD Likely Does Not Increase Risk for Hypertension, but May Affect Heart Rate. Web.
NIMH. Preschoolers with ADHD Improve with Low Doses of Medication. Web.