Grappling with the Medicated Self: The Case of ADHD College Students

Abstract

Drawing on interview data, this article is a case study of the “medicated self.” Specifically, we analyze how ADHD‐diagnosed college students construct how they are shaped by the behavioral effects of medicine. Students may perceive that pharmaceutical enhancement is necessary in the context of a competitive academic ethic. In this context something akin to Lareau's concept of concerted cultivation thrives as students practice what we call concerted medicalization in an attempt to literally embody the academic ideal. However, while medicine may enable students to manage academic performance and take control of “disordered bodies,” many remain uneasy about the extent to which they feel controlled by a drug. In the context of medical ambivalence, ADHD students engage in reflexive identity management and strategic pharmaceutical use to achieve some semblance of self‐control and self‐preservation during their college years. As their college education comes to a close, many prepare to return to what they construct as their “authentic,” nonmedicated selves as they enter the work world.