The impact of a theory-based web-intervention on the intention to use prescription drugs for non-medical purposes among college students: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

The non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) among college students is escalating at an alarming rate. A limited number of studies have utilized a theoretical framework to influence this behavior. To utilize the reasoned-action approach theory to design and evaluate a web-based intervention to influence students’ attitudes, perceived norms (PNs), perceived behavioral control (PBC) and intentions toward NMUPD. Using a two-group post-test only controlled trial, students were randomized to view either a general health website or a web-based intervention focused on NMUPD. The intervention was presented in multiple sections to address each component of the reasoned-action approach. Subsequently, respondents completed a web-survey. Independent t-tests were used to compare responses between the two groups. Of 391 respondents, 112 (28.9%) students indicated previous NMUPD. The intervention group had significantly (P = 0.04) more negative attitudes toward NMUPD. No significant differences were found in PNs (P = 0.11), PBC (P = 0.68) or intentions to NMUPD (P = 0.97). The intervention was successful in changing attitudes toward NMUPD. Targeting the intervention toward college students regardless of previous experiences of NMUPD might have led to insufficiency of the intervention to influence intentions. Additional research is needed to improve the intervention dissemination and utilization.

The Impact of Normative Feedback on Undergraduates’ Prescription Drug Use Knowledge and Behavior: A Mixed Methods Study

“…Potentially, group social norm interventions by themselves are not convincing enough to change behavioral intentions 38 due to the broad, non-personalized nature of the feedback. However, the one existing social norm intervention for NMPDU 23 was a personalized feedback intervention which did not find a significant change in behavioral intentions either. Finally, prescription drugs have been found to provide clinical benefits for issues such as acute pain management, 2 ADHD, 3 and anxiety disorders, 4 and thus potentially participants did not intend to change their prescription drug use behaviors because they were receiving clinical value from ongoing use of their prescription drugs.…”

“…The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) proposes that central factors influencing behavior are the intentions to engage in that behavior (ie, behavioral intention ) and general attitudes surrounding the behavior 22 . Despite the importance of this theory in predicting behavior, only one study has investigated how this theory can be used to predict PDU/NMPDU 23 . The authors’ individualized social norm intervention resulted in significantly more negative attitudes towards NMPDU, yet no change in intentions to use.…”

Expressions of Perceived Susceptibility Toward Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

“…Researchers have moved into investigating the effectiveness of webbased tailored interactive interventions targeting HPV (Pot et al, 2018) and drug abuse (Arabyat et al, 2019). Nevertheless, brochures are still useful to reach the less information technology-savvy segments of the community.…”

Faculty Members’ Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Anti-Plagiarism Detection Tools: Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior

“…Frameworks based on socio-behavioral theories are frequently used in research to understand and predict human behaviors (Mermelstein & Revenson, 2013). The theory of planned behavior (TPB) is one of the most successful theories that have been used to explain several different human behaviors (Arabyat et al, 2019; Armitage & Conner, 2001; Chudzicka-Czupała et al, 2016). In the current study, this theory was selected as the conceptual framework, as it has been proven successful in predicting and understanding human behaviors relating to academic misconduct (Curtis et al, 2018; Khathayut et al, 2020; Stone et al, 2010).…”