Prevalence and correlates of non-medical stimulants and related drug use in a sample of South African undergraduate medical students
Date
2016
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AOSIS Publishing
Abstract
Background: The non-medical use of prescription psychostimulants or cognitive-enhancing substances among healthy college students is a growing concern. This use appears to be particularly high among medical students. To our knowledge, no literature is available on the non-medical use of stimulants among South African medical students.
Objective: To determine the prevalence and correlates of non-medical stimulant use as well as subjective opinion on peer numbers using stimulants and university attitude towards stimulant use among a sample of South African undergraduate medical students.
Methods: A descriptive observational study was conducted by means of a self-report questionnaire. Second- and fourth-year medical students (n = 252) completed the questionnaire.
Results: Of the sample, 44 (18%) reported a lifetime use of stimulants for non-medical purposes and 33 (85%) of this group reported use within the past year. A total of six (2%) students reported a diagnosis of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In the group without a diagnosis of ADHD, non-medical stimulant use was associated with the year of study (p = 0.03) and illicit substance use (p = 0.01). Most of the students in this group (31, 32%) reported using stimulants to improve concentration.
Conclusion: Non-medical use of stimulants to improve concentration and academic performance is prevalent among the South African medical students sampled in this study. Further research at other institutions and under non-medical students would be helpful to assess the scope of this phenomenon.
Description
CITATION: Retief, M. & Verster, C. 2016. Prevalence and correlates of non-medical stimulants and related drug use in a sample of South African undergraduate medical students. South African Journal of Psychiatry, 22(1):1-6, doi:10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v22i1.795.
The original publication is available at http://www.sajp.org.za
The original publication is available at http://www.sajp.org.za
Keywords
Medical students -- Drug use -- South Africa, Psychostimulants -- Substance use -- South Africa, Cognition-enhancing drugs -- Substance use -- South Africa
Citation
Retief, M. & Verster, C. 2016. Prevalence and correlates of non-medical stimulants and related drug use in a sample of South African undergraduate medical students. South African Journal of Psychiatry, 22(1):1-6, doi:10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v22i1.795