Study on Medication Misuse

An interesting survey was recently conducted by Harris Poll for the newly-created Coalition to Prevent Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Medication Misuse (CPAMM), a network of organizations with the shared goal of developing and educational strategy for college students focusing on reducing misuse amongst college students.

The study found that while students generally felt that they are aware of the risks of misusing ADHD medication, further investigation found that this was incorrect. Most expressed understanding why some students decide to use the medication, especially when taking into account the pressure to succeed in today’s post-secondary environments. The majority of students believed that misusing stimulant medication (75%), was unethical and a form of cheating similar to athletes using performance-enhancing drugs. However, almost half of these students also felt that those who do take these medications without the presence of ADHD were doing what was necessary to keep up with extreme pressure. Most felt that the main reasons students were misusing these medications was to get better grades and to succeed.

CPAMM hopes to create peer-to-peer interventions to assist with the common misconceptions that misusing ADHD medications leads to better grades, is not harmful and that “everyone is doing it”, and to provide information of better ways to cope with educational stress.

This certainly looks like a step in the right direction.

For further information on this survey access www.uloop.com/news/view.php/144465/College-Students-Split-On-ADHD-Prescript.