Psychotropic Medication Prescriptions: An Analysis of the Reasons People with Mental Retardation Are Prescribed Psychotropic Medication

A descriptive analysis was undertaken to determine the reasons people with mental retardation are prescribed psychotropic medication. The psychotropic medications and the reasons for which they were prescribed to 71 adults with mental retardation receiving services from a community mental health and mental retardation agency were recorded. There were a total of 145 psychotropic medications prescribed. Of the 145, 85 medications (59%) were prescribed to treat diagnoses or disorders (or both) for which the medications were intended. Twenty-nine of the 145 medications (20%) were prescribed for reasons that did not match the accepted uses of the medications. Results suggest that prescribing practices for people with mental retardation may not always be valid.