Literature Review Regarding the Illicit Use of Study Drugs on College Campuses

            In recent years there has been a widespread rising trend of nonmedical use of ADHD medication on college campuses. It is a growing area of concern for several reasons. First, nonmedical use of prescription stimulants is illegal. Second, it is possible that students with illegal access to such medications garner an academic advantage over those who do not. Third, stimulants carry a host of potential side effects ranging in severity from headache and insomnia to irregular heartbeat and psychosis. Several institutions have implemented measures to curb the illicit use of ADHD stimulants on their campus through educational programs, amendments to university honor codes, or revisions to protocols regarding the distribution of such medicines from campus health centers. However, illicit use of prescription stimulants remains largely unmonitored.

Numerous studies employing self-report surveys and in-depth interviews across numerous US college campuses have revealed largely consistent data about this trend. In 2009, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration published that full-time college students aged 18-22 were more than twice as likely to have illicitly used Adderall in the past year (6.4 vs. 3.0%) compared to those in the same age group who were not full-time students (The National Survey on Drug Use and Health Report). DeSantis et al. (2010) showed that 34% of the full-time students at a large, public southeastern research university who participated in the study (N=1,811) used ADHD stimulants illegally. They found that most of this population engaged in this behavior during periods of high academic stress.

While there have been studies attempting to link the nonmedical use of psychostimulants to demographic information such as sex, age, race, annual family income, Greek affiliation, and age at initiation of stimulant use, to my knowledge there have not been studies examining illicit use of ADHD medication by field of study. According to Arria et al. (2008), there is a perception that the use of psychostimulants will improve academic performance. Undergraduate work has become increasingly competitive, as the number of students pursuing secondary degrees has increased. Based on preliminary interview results I have personally collected, one of the more prevalent motivators behind illicit use of prescription stimulants is a Machiavellian attitude of “the ends justify the means.” Students seem willing to take extreme measures to boost their chances of getting into the graduate school or employment field of their choice.

For this reason, I believe it will be worthwhile to explore whether or not notoriously difficult pre-professional tracks or majors encourage comparatively higher rates of illicit ADHD medication use. I will collect data from self-report surveys administered to the student population at a southern medium-sized, elite research institution. I will collect demographic information including age, class standing, race, annual family income, cumulative GPA, pre-professional track, and major. I will also ask questions regarding the motivations behind illicit use of prescription psychostimulants. There seems to be a relatively widespread sentiment that “everybody’s doing it so it’s not a big deal.” If this is true and society has engendered a hyper-competitive environment at most American universities, it is a sign that we should, as a society, take a step back to address and attempt to rectify whatever it is that drives students to take such extreme actions for the sake of academic advancement. My hope is that my modest contribution to the existing body of literature regarding the illicit use of prescription ADHD medication will assist in this discourse.

Works Cited:

Abuse, S. (2009). Mental Health Services Administration (2009) Results from the 2008 national survey on drug use and health: national findings (Office of Applied Studies, NSDUH Series H-36, HHS Publication No. SMA 09-4434).Rockville, MD.

Arria, A. M., O'Grady, K. E., Caldeira, K. M., Vincent, K. B., & Wish, E. D. (2008). Nonmedical use of prescription stimulants and analgesics: Associations with social and academic behaviors among college students. Journal of drug issues, 38(4), 1045-1060.

DeSantis, A. D., Webb, E. M., & Noar, S. M. (2008). Illicit use of prescription ADHD medications on a college campus: a multimethodological approach.Journal of American college health, 57(3), 315-324.