Motivating factors for prescription stimulant misuse vary by age, education level
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Prevention and intervention targets for prescription stimulant misuse vary by age and education level, according to study results published in Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
“The transition from middle adolescence through young adulthood entails major educational changes, increased independence, transitioning from school to employment and changes in medication responsibilities for many individuals,” Ty S. Schepis, PhD, of the department of psychology at Texas State University, told Healio Psychiatry. “We thought that the reasons that individuals engaged in prescription stimulant misuse would also be likely to change over that period, in particular because of increased educational demands in the high school and college years, for those who go on to college education. No one had examined prescription stimulant misuse motives by age, and we wanted to do so.”
Schepis and colleagues used data from the 2015 to 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health to examine numerous prescription stimulant misuse among 86,918 adolescents and young adults aged 14 to 25 years. They examined individual prescription stimulant misuse motives, such as study aid, and motive categories, such as cognitive enhancement only, recreational only, weight loss only and combined motives, by age. Further, they used logistic regression models to evaluate associations between individual motives or motive categories and educational status, substance use, DSM-4 substance use disorder and mental health correlates.
Results showed significant differences across adolescent and young adults in cognitive enhancement only and recreational only or combine prescription stimulant misuse motives. Schepis and colleagues noted particularly high rates of cognitive enhancement only among college students and graduates. Participants with any past-year substance use disorder had significantly elevated rates of recreational-only and combined motives, with getting high as a particularly prevalent motive. Although any prescription stimulant misuse was linked to higher risk for substance use disorder and mental health outcomes, such as suicidal ideation, risk was highest for recreational or combined motives.
“Our research suggests that efforts to prevent prescription stimulant misuse need to focus on different underlying reasons that motivate such misuse by age,” Schepis said. “In middle adolescents, universal prevention programs focused on factors that lead to participating in risky behaviors and substance use generally may be most effective. In later adolescents and especially young adults, prescription stimulant misuse is motivated more clearly by a desire to improve focus, concentration and studying. As such, providing better academic skills, including note taking, studying and time management, appears needed.”