Educate Yourself: Drugs
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Date Rape Drugs
Methamphetamine and Cocaine
Adderall and Ritalin
LSD/Psilocybin
Narcotic Analgesics
Studies Identify Factors Surrounding Rise in Abuse of Prescription Drugs by College Students
Research Findings
By Lori Whitten, NIDA NOTES Staff Writer
Vol. 20, No. 4 (March 2006) For the full article please go to:
http://www.nida.nih.gov/NIDA_notes/NNvol20N4/Studies.html
Prescription drug abuse among students in U.S. colleges and universities has been rising for several years. The 2004 Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey of College Students and Adults—the most recent data available—estimated that 7.4 percent of college students used the painkiller hydrocodone (Vicodin) without a prescription in that year, up from 6.9 percent in 2002, with similar increases for other opioid medications, stimulants, and sedatives. Three new NIDA-funded studies reveal which students and campuses have the highest rates of abuse and connect such abuse to other unhealthy behaviors. According to the research, rates of collegiate prescription stimulant abuse are highest among men, caucasions, fraternity/sorority members, and at schools in the Northeast.
Stimulant Abuse Nationwide
Dr. Sean Esteban McCabe and colleagues at the University of Michigan and Harvard University analyzed the answers from the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study, which in 2001 surveyed 10,904 randomly selected students enrolled at 119 colleges across the United States. Overall, 4 percent of the respondents reported having taken a stimulant medication without a prescription at least once during the previous year. Men were twice as likely as women (5.8 percent versus 2.9 percent) to have abused methylphenidate (Ritalin), dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine), and amphetamine/dextroamphetamine (Adderall). Stimulant medication abuse was also more prevalent among students who were:
- White (4.9 percent versus 1.6 percent for African-Americans and 1.3 percent for Asians);
- Members of fraternities or sororities (8.6 percent versus 3.5 percent for nonmembers); and
- Earning lower grades (5.2 percent for grade point average of B or lower versus 3.3 percent for B+ or higher).
Students who abused prescription stimulants reported higher levels of cigarette smoking; heavy drinking; risky driving; and abuse of marijuana, MDMA (Ecstasy), and cocaine. Compared with other survey respondents, for example, they were 20 times as likely to report past-year cocaine abuse and 5 times as likely to report driving after heavy drinking.
The campus prevalence of past-year stimulant abuse ranged from 0 percent at 20 colleges—including the three historically African-American institutions included in the survey—to 25 percent. The prevalence was 10 percent or higher at 12 colleges. Students attending colleges in the Northeast, schools with more competitive admission standards, and noncommuter schools reported higher rates of abuse.
Stimulant Abuse Varies by Campus Characteristics
| Selected Characteristics | Past-year Stimulant Abuse Rates % |
|---|---|
| Admission criteria: | |
| More competitive | 5.9 |
| Competitive | 4.5 |
| Less competitive | 1.3 |
| Geographical region: | |
| Northeast | 6.3 |
| South | 4.6 |
| West | 3.2 |
| North Central | 2.8 |
| Commuter Status: | |
| Noncommuter school | 4.6 |
| Commuter school | 1.2 |
For more studies and information:
www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-15-college-drug-use_N.htm
www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1706073