Expert consensus on the treatment of preschoolers diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is clear: Try behavioral therapies for six months before prescribing medications. However, a new study found this guideline was followed in only 14.1% of U.S. cases involving children ages 3 to 5. “We found that many young children are being prescribed medications very soon after their diagnosis of ADHD is documented,” said study lead author Dr. Yair Bannett, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Stanford Medicine in California.

A new report from scholars at the Institute for Family Studies demonstrates these findings are more of a trend than unique. Fielding the Women’s Well-Being Survey (WWS) of 3,000 women in the U.S. in early March, these family scholars wanted to understand why married mothers are the happiest among women. The lead researcher is noted scholar, San Diego State University’s Jean W. Twenge. The General Social Survey, the academic gold standard in social science measurements, tells us that among women age 18 to 55 in the United States, 40 percent of those who are married and have children report being “very happy.” Only 25 percent of married childless women report being very happy, while just 22 percent of unmarried childless women do. Unmarried mothers? Only 17 percent report being “very happy.” And during the Covid pandemic, it was those married with kids who were most likely to report being very happy during that very trying time.