An Examination of the Situational Factors Associated with the Misuse of Prescription Analgesics among College Students

An Examination of the Situational Factors Associated with the Misuse of Prescription Analgesics among College Students

The current study examined the effect that students' educational environment has on the prevalence and motivations associated with the misuse of prescription analgesics (MPA). A sample of 893 undergraduate students was recruited from one religiously affiliated private university and one public...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of drug education Vol. 44; no. 3-4; pp. 116 - 136
Main Authors: Gallucci, Andrew R, Wynveen, Chris, Hackman, Christine, Meyer, Andrew, Usdan, Stuart
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States SAGE Publications 01-09-2014
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Analgesics, Opioid - administration & dosage
Binge Drinking - epidemiology
Church Related Colleges
Context Effect
Drug Abuse
Educational Environment
Ethnic Groups - statistics & numerical data
Female
Grade Point Average
Humans
Incidence
Male
Motivation
Multivariate Analysis
Predictor Variables
Prescription Drug Misuse - psychology
Prescription Drug Misuse - statistics & numerical data
Private Colleges
Public Colleges
Religion
Sex Factors
Student Surveys
Students - psychology
Students - statistics & numerical data
Undergraduate Students
United States
United States (South)
Universities
Young Adult
motivations
prescription analgesics
misuse
college students
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Summary:The current study examined the effect that students' educational environment has on the prevalence and motivations associated with the misuse of prescription analgesics (MPA). A sample of 893 undergraduate students was recruited from one religiously affiliated private university and one public university in the Southern United States. Participants completed an in-class survey assessing MPA-related behavior and their associated motivations. Results indicated that students attending the religiously affiliated university displayed lower rates of MPA. Multivariate analyses revealed that a positive drug abuse screening, prescription status, and grade point average are the strongest predictors of past-year MPA for both schools. Some motivations for medical misuse differed significantly between campuses. Implications as to how these differences can inform programs aimed at the reduction of prescription analgesic abuse are discussed.
ISSN:0047-2379
DOI:10.1177/0047237915585523