Psychoactive drug prescribing by Dutch child and adolescent psychiatrists

Aim: To gain more insight into the prescribing of psychoactive drugs by Dutch child psychiatrists. Methods: A questionnaire was sent to all child psychiatrists in the Netherlands. Questions were asked about the prescribing of antidepressants, antipsychotics, anxiolytics and psychostimulants for psychiatric disorders in children. Results: The preference of specific antidepressants, antipsychotics and anxiolytics depends on the disorder. For different disorders, off-label prescribing varies from 19 to 71%. Conclusion: Preferences differ widely. Off-label drug prescribing is high. More studies on the efficacy and safety of psychoactive drugs in children are therefore required.