Subjective stressors in school and their relation to neuroenhancement: a behavioral perspective on students’ everyday life “doping”

Abstract

BackgroundThe use of psychoactive substances to neuroenhance cognitive performance is prevalent. Neuroenhancement (NE) in everyday life and doping in sport might rest on similar attitudinal representations, and both behaviors can be theoretically modeled by comparable means-to-end relations (substance-performance). A behavioral (not substance-based) definition of NE is proposed, with assumed functionality as its core component. It is empirically tested whether different NE variants (lifestyle drug, prescription drug, and illicit substance) can be regressed to school stressors.FindingsParticipants were 519 students (25.8 ± 8.4 years old, 73.1% female). Logistic regressions indicate that a modified doping attitude scale can predict all three NE variants. Multiple NE substance abuse was frequent. Overwhelming demands in school were associated with lifestyle and prescription drug NE.ConclusionsResearchers should be sensitive for probable structural similarities between enhancement in everyday life and sport and systematically explore where findings from one domain can be adapted for the other. Policy makers should be aware that students might misperceive NE as an acceptable means of coping with stress in school, and help to form societal sensitivity for the topic of NE among our younger ones in general.

Cognitive Enhancement and Coping in an Australian University Student Sample

“…In line with previous recommendations concerning regulatory opportunities for universities (Singh et al 2014), education would appear critical to curb any proliferation in enhancement drug use within student populations. More specifically, preventative measures may center on empowering students to develop more effective coping strategies that address the root cause of their concerns before they turn to enhancement drug use Wolff and Brand 2013). Furthermore, as Jensen et al (2016) recommend, helping students to maintain manageable stress levels through identifying less harmful coping strategies may prove useful.…”

“…This was followed by a list of various drugs. Based on previous work (e.g., Schelle et al 2015;Wolff and Brand 2013), we grouped CE agents into three distinct classes, including lifestyle (e.g., caffeine, alcohol, energy drinks), prescription (e.g., Ritalin ® , Adderall ® , modafinil), and illicit drugs (e.g., cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana) and included an Bother^option for substances not listed (see Table 1 for the full list of drugs included). Participants were prompted to indicate any past use.…”

“…More recently, studies have moved beyond simply charting enhancement drug prevalence rates at universities to further understand the related factors that compel students to use CEs (Mazanov et al 2013;Schelle et al 2015;Wolff and Brand 2013). This has lead researchers to broaden their understanding of CE and to examine common underlying psychological factors, such as personality (Sattler and Schunck 2016); perfectionism (Stoeber and Hotham 2016); and stress (Ford and Schroeder 2009;Forlini et al 2015;Maier et al 2013;Wolff and Brand 2013) as potential predictors of drug use of this type.…”

“…This has lead researchers to broaden their understanding of CE and to examine common underlying psychological factors, such as personality (Sattler and Schunck 2016); perfectionism (Stoeber and Hotham 2016); and stress (Ford and Schroeder 2009;Forlini et al 2015;Maier et al 2013;Wolff and Brand 2013) as potential predictors of drug use of this type. Adopting health psychology frameworks, some studies (e.g., Jensen et al 2016) have also considered the role of coping and its relation to CE.…”

“…Therefore, it may be that cognitive enhancement is a coping strategy to deal with the stress and pressure typically associated with university life (Schelle et al 2015). This is reflected in the literature: CE has been examined extensively as a response to academic-related stress (Ford and Schroeder 2009;Forlini et al 2015;Sattler et al 2014;Sattler and Wiegel 2013;Wolff and Brand 2013). Comparatively little is known, however, about the relationship (if any) between enhancement drug use and coping.…”