Background We interviewed college students who engage in prescription stimulant misuse and diversion to better understand perspectives on prevention and intervention strategies. Methods Trained student researchers at one southern California university completed 32 face-to-face interviews with students who had a history of misuse and/or diversion. Participants provided insights on programs, policies, and practices that have the potential to deter behavior. Data were analyzed inductively via thematic analysis. Results Students were often misinformed or unaware of existing programs, policies and practices. Additionally, some students felt their behaviors would not be detected, whereas other students felt the fear of being detected would lead them to change their behaviors. Harm reduction and treatment-based approaches to address misuse were also recommended. Conclusions Our findings emphasize the importance of better educating students about, and enforcing, existing policies. In addition, the need to better inform students of existing campus programs is warranted.
We used the narrative vignette/storytelling approach to provide a holistic illustration of prescription stimulant misuse [PSM] and diversion [PSD] initiation and maintenance among college-attending emerging adults. We conducted 32 semi-structured, theory-guided interviews with 20 students during spring and summer 2019. The participants were diverse with respect to age, race/ethnicity and gender, and had a history of PSM and/or PSD. We created four narrative vignettes using a multi-step, collaborative process that incorporated patterns of what contributed to initiation and maintenance for four identified student groups (i.e., PSM with and without a prescription and PSD with and without a prescription). Characteristics of the individual, social and broader environments influenced behavior initiation, and positive reinforcement from trial behavior contributed to maintenance. Similarities and differences were identified across the groups. Approaches for PSM and PSD prevention and intervention in college-attending emerging adults should be multifaceted and consider prescription status.
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