To Study, to Party, or Both? Assessing Risk Factors for Non-Prescribed Stimulant Use among Middle and High School Students

ABSTRACT

This study examines the risk factors predicting non-prescribed stimulant use (NPSU) among adolescents, with an emphasis on whether such factors are reflective of instrumental (e.g., studying) and/or recreational (e.g., partying) drug consumption settings. Using data from Monitoring the Future (2011), we employed a series of logistic regression models to establish predictors of 12-month self-reported Adderall or Ritalin use without a doctor’s note among eighth and tenth graders. Whereas studies of college students have found NPSU to correlate with instrumental motives and productivity-related demands, we find no association between NPSU and indicators of academic strain for this younger sample. Rather, we find that the age of onset and current use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana are most predictive of NPSU, which are substances generally associated with social and recreational consumption settings. These findings have potential implications for practitioners concerned with mitigating the harms of general prescription drug misuse, as intervention efforts informed by research conducted among college students may not readily apply to younger populations. Drawing from central tenets of developmental and life course criminology, we call for continued inquiry into the broader socialization and developmental processes that influence NPSU and other prescription drug use patterns prior to early adulthood.

KEYWORDS:

• Adderall
• adolescent drug use
• prescription stimulants
• Ritalin

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Fran Buntman, Ivy Ken, Seth Gershenson, David Pitts, Gregory Squires, and the anonymous reviewers that provided helpful feedback on previous iterations of the manuscript.

Notes

1. Within the literature, the choice of “misuse” or “non-prescribed use” is largely a function of the survey data used in secondary analysis. National surveys differ in the wording of questions regarding prescription stimulant use. Whereas Monitoring the Future (MTF) asks about non-prescribed use, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) asks respondents if they have ever taken prescription stimulants that were not prescribed to them, or if they took the medication only to get high. In research designs using the latter type of survey data, “misuse” and “non-medical” use are used interchangeably. The present study exclusively focuses on non-prescribed use.