Prescription Stimulants
Group Dynamics, Social Influence, and Academic Pressure Contribute to the Use of Prescription Stimulants
University of Wisconsin at Madison
Abstract
The use of prescription stimulants among University of Wisconsin-Madison college students is reflected by the influence of personal social groupings and networks, such as fraternities and sororities, as well as personal academic expectations. The research design was based on a quantitative survey data collection through an online survey hosted by “SurveyMonkey” along with paper copies distributed to a random sample of students that attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 184 students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison students took the time to fill out the survey by choice, 144 students took the online survey and 44 students took the hard copy survey. Research took place over a three week time period and anyone that was currently enrolled at the college could participate. Findings show that students with a GPA of 3.1-3.5, freshman, Engineering and Business majors, Greek life affiliation, and white males consumed the highest percentage of ADHD medication. Some major limitations that our study had were that the survey was based on 11 questions and the numbers of participants wasn’t a large enough sample size to generalize to the entire campus population. By gaining a more accurate sample, with equal number of participants from each of the majors, year in school, and ethnicity, a better conclusion could be made.
Introduction
College is a time of experimentation, ranging from social relationships to drugs and alcohol. College students use prescription stimulants to “get in the zone” or pull all night study sessions—a habit that most likely began in college (Teter et al, 2006). Although most college students use prescription drugs properly, about one in four people aged 18 to 20 reported using these medications at least once in their lives illegally (NSDUH, 2008). Research indicates America
University of Wisconsin at Madison
Abstract
The use of prescription stimulants among University of Wisconsin-Madison college students is reflected by the influence of personal social groupings and networks, such as fraternities and sororities, as well as personal academic expectations. The research design was based on a quantitative survey data collection through an online survey hosted by “SurveyMonkey” along with paper copies distributed to a random sample of students that attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 184 students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison students took the time to fill out the survey by choice, 144 students took the online survey and 44 students took the hard copy survey. Research took place over a three week time period and anyone that was currently enrolled at the college could participate. Findings show that students with a GPA of 3.1-3.5, freshman, Engineering and Business majors, Greek life affiliation, and white males consumed the highest percentage of ADHD medication. Some major limitations that our study had were that the survey was based on 11 questions and the numbers of participants wasn’t a large enough sample size to generalize to the entire campus population. By gaining a more accurate sample, with equal number of participants from each of the majors, year in school, and ethnicity, a better conclusion could be made.
Introduction
College is a time of experimentation, ranging from social relationships to drugs and alcohol. College students use prescription stimulants to “get in the zone” or pull all night study sessions—a habit that most likely began in college (Teter et al, 2006). Although most college students use prescription drugs properly, about one in four people aged 18 to 20 reported using these medications at least once in their lives illegally (NSDUH, 2008). Research indicates America
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