Everyday drug diversions: A qualitative study of the illicit exchange and non-medical use of prescription stimulants on a university campus

Vrecko, Scott

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.10.016

Cited by 72 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…These findings were similar to previous studies, which have found college students obtain prescription drugs from parents and peers [20,22]. Other research has found that black market sources are a frequently used avenue to obtain drugs [21].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Minority students revealed several sources for obtaining prescription drugs including friends and the use of previously prescribed drugs (i.e., "leftover") that were saved for other purposes. The use of qualitative methods in this study provided an in-depth exploration of NMUPD among minority students; a population that is underrepresented in many larger studies [4,20,25]. The ideas for improving existing prevention and educational messages on college campuses that have the potential to improve knowledge and health.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies have explored the sources for obtaining prescription drugs for non-medical use [19][20][21]. In particular, one study consisting of 520 college students found that approximately 87% of students reported obtaining stimulants from peers [22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Nonmedical Use of Prescription Drugs: Perceptions of Minority College Students

Oluwoye¹,

Nabors²,

Merianos³

et al. 2017

J Behav Health

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Objective: The goal of this study was to examine undergraduate minority students' perceptions toward the non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD). Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 (68.2% female; 40.9% Asian; mean age = 20 years) minority students from a large Midwestern University in the US. Results: Four major themes were revealed: Motives for the NMUPD, sources for obtaining drugs, the influence of the college environment and areas surrounding the university, and suggested prevention programing. Conclusion: Findings revealed several problem areas among college students, especially among minorities. It is critical that programs and policies on college campuses increase efforts to address the misuse of prescription drugs. Prevention efforts should also incorporate cultural factors to address minority students on campus.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Nonmedical Use of Prescription Drugs: Perceptions of Minority College Students

Oluwoye¹,

Nabors²,

Merianos³

et al. 2017

J Behav Health

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show abstract

“…Using a revised coping model by Cooper et al (2008), we found that dysfunctional coping was related to CE use; however, this is unlikely to be the only factor related to students' enhancement practices. Previous studies have emphasized illicit drug use McCabe et al 2005;Schelle et al 2015); availability and association to other CE users (Desantis et al 2010;Vrecko 2015); and attitudes (Partridge et al 2012) as important drivers. It will therefore be important for future research to both replicate our main finding and to further explore the relationship between coping styles and the range of other factors known to impact CE use.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive Enhancement and Coping in an Australian University Student Sample

2017

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Cognitive enhancement (CE) agents are those purported to improve or augment aspects of cognition such as working memory, creativity, and executive function in healthy individuals. CE by university students looking to improve their academic performance, particularly through the use of pharmacological agents (or nootropics), has become an area of increasing interest for researchers. However, studies on the prevalence of, and motivations behind, students' CE use at Australian universities are limited. This study aimed to contribute a new sample of prevalence data, as well as corroborate previous qualitative research that has suggested that emotion-focused and avoidant coping styles may make students more susceptible to utilizing CE drugs. A sample of N=633 individuals was recruited to complete the BCognitive Enhancement and Student Lifestyle Survey^online. The key questions of interest concerned students' enhancement drug usage habits, usage motivations, and coping styles. Analyses found that 6.32% of students indicated lifetime use of prescription CE agents for the purposes of study-related enhancement. Furthermore, dysfunctional coping strategies were associated with an increased likelihood of both lifestyle and prescription CE drug use. Findings from this study refine current understandings of enhancement drug use in Australia and are contextualized in regard to potential avenues for on-campus health interventions and regulatory opportunities. In particular, helping students to maintain manageable stress levels through identifying less harmful coping strategies may prove useful.

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“…Considering the originality of the subject and the implicit conflict between practices of rational use of medicines and the effects of pharmaceuticalization, there were only three articles found, two under the combination "pharmaceuticalization" OR "pharmaceuticalisation" AND "rational use of medicines" in the Virtual Health Library (BVS) 4 and Scielo 17 and another one under "pharmaceuticalization" OR "pharmaceuticalisation" AND "methylphenidate" on PubMed-Medline and Scopus 18 . There was a new attempt made under the same bases, using the terms "pharmaceuticalization" OR "pharmaceuticalisation" AND "cognitive enhancement" which also resulted in one article 19 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%