Nonprescription Stimulant Use at a Public University: Students’ Motives, Experiences, and Guilt

• Published date: 01 April 2021
• DOI: 10.1177/0022042620988107
• Author: Carley Cook,Marketa Burnett,Beth Kurtz-Costes
• Date: 01 April 2021
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0022042620988107

Journal of Drug Issues

2021, Vol. 51(2) 372 –386

© The Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/0022042620988107

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Article

Nonprescription Stimulant Use

at a Public University: Students’

Motives, Experiences, and Guilt

Carley Cook1, Beth Kurtz-Costes1,

and Marketa Burnett1

Abstract

We examined the use of nonmedical prescription stimulants (NPSs) among students (N = 1,208)

at a large public university in southeastern United States. After students who had been prescribed

stimulants had been removed from the sample, 202 of the remaining 1,067 students (i.e., 18.9%)

reported having engaged in NPS use in their lifetime. NPS use was strongly associated with

membership in Greek societies and with binge drinking behavior. NPS users overwhelmingly

reported engagement in NPS use for academic rather than for recreational purposes, and as

anticipated, NPS users with academic motives reported stronger academic benefits than NPS

users with social/recreational motives. Reports of guilt were low, and frequent users reported

less guilt than infrequent users. Implications for interventions are discussed.

Keywords

nonmedical prescription stimulant (NPS) use, Adderall, substance use, guilt, college, Greek life

The use of prescription stimulants for nonmedical pursuits, often referred to as nonmedical pre-

scription stimulant (NPS) use, is a growing problem on college campuses, with reported preva-

lence rates increasing over the past two decades and exceeding 30% in some studies (DeSantis

et al., 2008; McCabe et al., 2005; Pino et al., 2017). Such drugs include Adderall, Ritalin, and

Dexedrine. NPS use is consistently present in undergraduate academic culture, yet universities

often fail to raise awareness about the risks of taking prescribed stimulants without a doctor’s

supervision. In the following sections, we discuss the prevalence and correlates of NPS use on

college campuses; motivations underlying NPS use; evidence that NPS enhances mood, grade

point average (GPA), and cognitive performance; and whether NPS users feel guilty about their

use. Following these sections, we pose several hypotheses and research questions.

Prevalence and Correlates of Nonmedical Use of Stimulants

Recent studies that have measured NPS use on college campuses have documented rates ranging

from 6.9% nationally to 34% at one large southeastern public university (Arria et al., 2018;

1University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA

Corresponding Author:

Carley Cook, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB 3270,

Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3270, USA.

Email: carleyc@live.unc.edu

988107JODXXX10.1177/0022042620988107Journal of Drug IssuesCook et al.

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