Prevalence of cognitive enhancer use among <scp>N</scp>ew <scp>Z</scp>ealand tertiary students

Ram, Sanya; Hussainy, Safeera Yasmeen; Henning, Marcus A.; Jensen, Maree; Russell, Bruce

doi:10.1111/dar.12294

Cited by 28 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Modafinil is classified as Schedule 4 prescription‐only medicine in Australia and is indicated to improve wakefulness in narcolepsy, to treat excessive sleepiness associated with shift work sleep disorder, and as an adjunct therapy for sleep apnoea . Due to its reported cognitive benefits, including increased alertness and concentration, its non‐medical use has been reported in a number of groups, most notably tertiary education student populations .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The availability and acquisition of modafinil on the internet

Dursun

Dunn

McKay

2019

Drug and Alcohol Review

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Introduction and Aims Prescription medications are readily accessible on both the dark and surface web. This study focuses specifically on modafinil. Modafinal is a medication that is used to treat sleepiness due to a range of sleep disorders, but is also used off‐label as a cognitive enhancer. This study aimed to evaluate surface websites which sold modafinil to Australia to provide an overview of and to document the characteristics of surface web retailers. Design and Methods An online search to identify online retailers selling modafinil was performed using three search engines. Retailers were included if they sold modafinil to Australia, as verified through the purchasing process. Thirteen retailers were included in the final sample. Results Most retailers sold more than one product, with products being sold in tablet form the most common (88%). Retailers offered products of multiple strength, with the 200 mg product most common (51%). Most retailers included information on the side effects of the substances (77%), few listed any supporting evidence. Few listed information regarding legal status (24%). Most retailers used a number of features to indicate legitimacy. Discussion and Conclusion This is the first study to document the characteristics of surface web retailers purporting to sell modafinil to Australia. Future studies may analyse purchased samples to identify potential counterfeit or poor‐quality medications.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The availability and acquisition of modafinil on the internet

Dursun

Dunn

McKay

2019

Drug and Alcohol Review

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“…Students may use other illicit drugs, drink heavily, avoid attending classes and not utilise the necessary time for studying, and then turn to prescription stimulants as a way to compensate for their behaviour. 10 A New Zealand study 11 of third-year university students in 2015 reported a rate of 6.6% for the use of cognitive enhancers, including methylphenidate. More recently, a South African study 12 reported that 17.2% of undergraduate students at one university had used methylphenidate with only 2.9% being diagnosed with ADHD.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-medical use of methylphenidate among medical students of the University of the Free State

Jain

Chang

Koto

et al. 2017

South African Journal of Psychiatry

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BackgroundFaced with demanding training programmes, medical students may be more prone to use methylphenidate for non-medical purposes in order to improve concentration, alertness and academic performance.AimThe study aimed to investigate the prevalence of the non-medical use of methylphenidate and knowledge of this drug among undergraduate medical students of the University of the Free State.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study. A self-administered, anonymous questionnaire was distributed during lectures to all students in the five year groups of the undergraduate medical programme.ResultsOf the 643 undergraduate medical students, 541 completed the questionnaire (response rate: 84.1%). Approximately 11.0% of surveyed students were using methylphenidate at the time of the study, of which the majority (67.9%) used it for academic purposes and 70.6% received it from a medical health professional. Less than a third of users had been diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Methylphenidate users’ median knowledge was greater than non-users, and methylphenidate knowledge increased from first-year and second-year students to third-year to fifth-year students. Median knowledge scores per year group ranged from 52.0% to 60.0%.ConclusionMethylphenidate is mainly used for non-medical purposes by medical students. Students generally have a low level of knowledge on methylphenidate. Specific information on methylphenidate should be included in lectures on stress management and study methods during the course of the medical curriculum.

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“…The stimulants commonly used for PCE include those used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, such as Ritalin, Concerta or Adderall, and wakefulness promoting agents used to treat Narcolepsy, for example Modafinil ( Repantis, 2013 ). There is some evidence that some university students are using these stimulants for PCE purposes ( Bavarian et al, 2013 ; Mazanov et al, 2013 ; Singh et al, 2014 ; Ram et al, 2015 ). The assumption commonly made in ethical analyses of this practice is that PCE helps students to manage the performance demands of university life.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Australian University Students’ Coping Strategies and Use of Pharmaceutical Stimulants as Cognitive Enhancers

et al. 2016

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Background: There are reports that some university students are using prescription stimulants for non-medical ‘pharmaceutical cognitive enhancement (PCE)’ to improve alertness, focus, memory, and mood in an attempt to manage the demands of study at university. Purported demand for PCEs in academic contexts have been based on incomplete understandings of student motivations, and often based on untested assumptions about the context within which stimulants are used. They may represent attempts to cope with biopsychosocial stressors in university life by offsetting students’ inadequate coping responses, which in turn may affect their cognitive performance. This study aimed to identify (a) what strategies students adopted to cope with the stress of university life and, (b) to assess whether students who have used stimulants for PCE exhibit particular stress or coping patterns.Methods: We interviewed 38 university students (with and without PCE experience) about their experience of managing student life, specifically their: educational values; study habits; achievement; stress management; getting assistance; competing activities and demands; health habits; and cognitive enhancement practices. All interview transcripts were coded into themes and analyzed.Results: Our thematic analysis revealed that, generally, self-rated coping ability decreased as students’ self-rated stress level increased. Students used emotion- and problem-focused coping for the most part and adjustment-focused coping to a lesser extent. Avoidance, an emotion-focused coping strategy, was the most common, followed by problem-focused coping strategies, the use of cognition on enhancing substances, and planning and monitoring of workload. PCE users predominantly used avoidant emotion-focused coping strategies until they no longer mitigated the distress of approaching deadlines resulting in the use of prescription stimulants as a substance-based problem-focused coping strategy.Conclusion: Our study suggests that students who choose coping responses that do not moderate stress where possible, may cause themselves additional distress and avoid learning more effective coping responses. Helping students to understand stress and coping, and develop realistic stress appraisal techniques, may assist students in general to maintain manageable distress levels and functioning. Furthermore, assisting students who may be inclined to use prescription stimulants for cognitive enhancement may reduce possible drug-related harms.

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Prevalence of cognitive enhancer use among New Zealand tertiary students

Cited by 28 publications

References 23 publications

The availability and acquisition of modafinil on the internet

The availability and acquisition of modafinil on the internet

Non-medical use of methylphenidate among medical students of the University of the Free State

Australian University Students’ Coping Strategies and Use of Pharmaceutical Stimulants as Cognitive Enhancers

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