The Illicit Use of Prescription Stimulants on College Campuses: Origins of Students Attitudes towards Usage
Over the past decade, the illicit use of prescription ADHD stimulants on college campuses has become a growing problem nationwide. While prevalence rates vary across time and place, research suggests that up to 4.7 million undergraduate college students in America use nonprescription ADHD stimulants (Vegh, 2011). Most research to date provides statistical prevalence rates and motivational factors associated with the illicit use of prescription stimulants on college campuses, however fails to provide a “theoretical foundation” (Vegh, 2011). Motivational factors alone cannot provide enough information; attitudes and intentions must be identified (Judson & Langdon, 2008). What factors are associated with positive or negative views towards illicit stimulant use? In order to develop effect prevention methods, a deeper understanding about how students perceive the issue is needed.
The Theory of Planned Behavior (as cited in Judson & Langdon) is the most accepted predictive behavioral model to date, and it suggests that if students have favorable views towards the illicit use of prescription stimulants, and believe that others would be accepting of this behavior, they are more likely to engage in the behavior (2008). In a study that performed audio interviews to 175 college students, it was found that when justifying the illicit use of prescription stimulants, most students utilized the same four argument tactics; “comparison and contrast, all-things-in-moderation, self-medicating, and minimization arguments” (Desantis & Hane, 2010). These results led researchers to theorize that views towards this illicit behavior are not formed by the individual, but are collective opinions that span across the population of college students (Desantis & Hane, 2010). Drawing back to the Theory of Planned Behavior, because the interviews suggested that the...