Middle-Class Motives for Non-Medical Prescription Stimulant Use among College Students

Abstract

Among policymakers and media in the United States, there is growing concern over increasing rates of illicit prescription drug use among college students. Using semi-structured interviews with 22 college students who misused prescription stimulants, we find that they draw on conventional middle-class beliefs (e.g., success and moderation) to make sense of their drug use. They do this by creating identities as people who are focused on success and use stimulants only as a tool to perform their best. They use excuses and justifications rooted in middle-class values to create symbolic boundaries between themselves (as legitimate users) and others (as hedonistic users). This allows them to persist with their illegal behaviors while maintaining an identity as conventional citizens.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank Abby Austin, Stephanie Cardwell, and Brian Price for assistance in data collection.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kent R. Kerley

KENT R. KERLEY is Professor and Chair in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at The University of Texas at Arlington. His primary research interests include corrections, religiosity, and drug careers. He is author of the monograph, Religious Faith in Correctional Contexts (2014, First Forum Press/Lynne Rienner Publishers). His research has appeared in many top journals, including Aggression and Violent Behavior, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Justice Quarterly, Social Forces, and Social Problems. He is Principal Investigator for two National Science Foundation grants used to create a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program called Using the Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Mathematics to Study Crime (NSF Award # 1261322 and 1004953). He has also received research funding from Google and the Religious Research Association.

Heith Copes

HEITH COPES is a Professor in the Department of Justice Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He earned his Ph.D. in sociology from The University of Tennessee. His primary interests lie in understanding the decision making process and identity construction of offenders. He is the author of the monograph, Identity Thieves: Motives and Methods (2012, Northeastern University Press). He has published over 50 articles and chapters on deviance and crime.

O. Hayden Griffin

O. HAYDEN GRIFFIN, III, J.D., Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Justice Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His research interests are drug policy, corrections, and law & society. His research has been published in Criminal Justice and Behavior, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, and International Journal of Drug Policy.