Centennial Honors College
Western Illinois University
Undergraduate Research Day 2012
Poster Presentation
ADHD Medication Use for Nonmedical Purposes among College Students
Samantha Goetz, Shannon Stone, and Grace Manning
Faculty Mentor: David Lane
Psychology
Prescription drug use for nonmedical purposes among college students has not been as
extensively explored as other drugs such as marijuana and alcohol. Our current study
focused on the motivation behind non-prescription drug use of ADHD medication.
There were 128 participants (35 men and 93 women). The study was posted as an
online survey, and was open to undergraduate students for academic credit in
psychology courses. A motive scale was developed to assess the motives behind the
use of ADHD medication. The motives included productivity, body image, pain
alleviation, social influences, sleep aid, boredom, and pleasure. Among the sample, 32
participants (25%) indicated that they used non-prescribed ADHD medication. Because
the sample of actual users was so small, both users and non-users were included in the
study; non-users indicated motivations to use ADHD medication if they were to use in
the future. Overall, the most popular motivations for both genders were productivity,
body image, pain alleviation, and pleasure. The least popular motivations were social
influences, boredom, and sleep aid; this pattern was basically the same for both users
and non-users of ADHD medications. A repeated measures ANOVA revealed a
significant interaction between gender and motives. Follow up paired t-tests revealed
that women scored significantly higher than men on 3 motives: productivity, body image,
and pleasure. An important implication of this study is the trend amongst users and
non-users to take ADHD medication for productivity purposes, which is a common
stereotype associated with ADHD medication use.