Academic pressures correlate with more Adderall abuse among college students

Written by Rayna Rosenthal

As an already competitive university environment continues to grow increasingly more competitive, a new trend is emerging on college campuses. A misuse of prescription drug stimulants, known as study drugs, has taken over the way students are learning and studying.

According to the University of Texas at Austin Division of Student Affairs, study drugs are defined as “…prescription drugs used to increase concentration and stamina for the purpose of studying or cramming.”

This most regularly includes Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) treatment drugs, such as Adderall, Vyvanse, and Ritalin.

Often, these drugs are either used improperly by a person with a prescription or more frequently, illegally by a person without a prescription in the attempt to increase attention span or enhance studying retention. According to a 2017 study, it was estimated that anywhere from 4.1 to 11.2 percent of college students are taking non-prescribed ADHD medication.

Via various interviews with students and doctors at the University of Denver, DU Media determined the ways in which interviewees perceived how other students constructed a justification scheme for illegal stimulant use.
Curtis Bonebrake, a junior at the University of Denver studying finance, talks about his ideas on why students engage in this activity. “They are performance enhancers, so they help students focus. A lot of times students procrastinate and if they take ADHD medication you can do a lot of work and stay focused over a long period of time,” he said.

Prescription ADHD drugs, such as Adderall, Vyvanse, and Ritalin, are known to keep users awake and focused, which is a desired state-of-mind for college students with lengthy assignments and project due dates, according to a 2006 study. The university environment is fast-paced, and often students use prescription drugs illegally as a “quick fix” to this unavoidable stress, as evident by the interviews conducted.

Kim Liao, Director of Health Promotions at the Health and Counseling Center at the University of Denver weighed in on the issue of student “study drug” abuse in an email interview. “Specific to prescription stimulants (ex. Adderall, Ritalin, Vyvanse), some students misuse or abuse these substances because they believe it will enhance their ability to study or succeed academically,” she explained.

Students interviewed agreed that the illegal use of the prescription drug was most commonly linked to high benefit and low consequence. This means that students are comfortable with taking ADHD medication illegally because these drugs are often not sought out by law enforcement or even campus officials, and they can easily get away with it. A research study in 2006 confirms this, finding that most students use this line of reasoning as a common justification to continue the illicit behavior.

Shailyn Lineberry is a sophomore at the University of Denver studying International Relations and Spanish. She too has seen an increase in exposure to this issue since coming to college and explains how it is all around students on the University of Denver’s campus, whether they realize it or not. “It is obvious that many students take prescription drugs, such as Adderall and Vyvanse, illegally. They get it from their friend who they know is prescribed,” she said. “It has become accepted that if you are prescribed, you probably will sell a pill or two to your friends for $2-4 per pill.”

Research confirms this. The most common pattern that emerged regarding where college students acquire these prescription drugs was from their friends or other students who are prescribed. National data by the American College Health Association suggests that approximately 10 percent of college students used prescription drugs that were not prescribed to them within the last 12 months.

Sophomore Spencer Delava, a real-estate major, provided a new perspective. Delava is prescribed Vyvanse from his doctor and knows just how much he should get. He explains how each prescription comes with such a high quantity of pills that he can see how people could sell just a few on the side. “When I get my prescription, it comes with 30 pills per month. I try not to take them every day, so I end up with a lot left over. College is expensive, and I could see how students would take that extra money. However, people are not aware of the risks, whether that be health or legal reasons,” Delava said.

A lack of education on prescription drug abuse was a recurring pattern discussed among interviewees. Many talked about how they were not educated throughout their high school and college experience on the topic. Although many learned about substance and marijuana use, students explained how prescription drugs were not included in their health-related classes.

Lineberry had never had a formal education about the abuse of ADHD medication. She stated, “I still haven’t been educated about it. Most other drugs, yes, but not prescription drugs. The only guidelines I was given was to stay away from them but that’s about it.”

It was evident that formal education hadn’t included ADHD medication as a topic to teach students about based on participants’ answers. This lack of education led to another pattern regarding the lack of knowledge about the effects of prescription drug abuse. When asked what they knew about the long-term and short-term effects, many students interviewed for this story concluded that they did not know any.

Lineberry and Bonebrake described their acquisition of knowledge through personal experience. Bonebrake in particular had heard of other students becoming dependent on study drugs to get work done for school. It became clear that both Lineberry and Bonebrake gained their knowledge, in different amounts, through out-of-the-classroom experiences.

With a lack of education-based research regarding prescription drug abuse, there is a barrier to students stopping this illicit behavior. Existing research outlines the effects that these medications have on the body and highlights the need for more research to stop the prevalent abuse.

Research has also shown that physical dependence can form for long-term users. Damage to the brain is a possibility due to increased levels of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine when taking ADHD medication non-prescribed. The brain stops producing these neurotransmitters when not on the medication which leads to a change in the brain structure, according to American Addiction Centers.

In a 2009 study, researchers found contradictions amongst common ideology that dismisses students’ justification to continue this illegal behavior. A study showed that students who are above normal distribution and are not prescribed these drugs do not perform any academically better than without their use. This disrupts many students’ reasons and furthers the argument that Adderall does not enhance performance evenly and may not be beneficial for the academic justification.

Liao was familiar with this study. The director added how many students who are actively abusing prescription drugs often skip more classes, therefore resulting in a lower grade point average. Many students are not aware of this, and the problem continues to grow, according to interviews.

Bonebrake summarized the problem by putting it into a bigger picture. “No matter what campus, whether it be big or small, private or public, this is an issue that is not going away without changing the status quo. Students will continue this behavior because of the lack of education surrounding it. If more administrative staff, health counselors, and professors were aware of this problem, more people could be helped, and a healthier campus environment could be created.”