Nonmedical use of prescription drugs for cognitive enhancement as response to chronic stress especially when social support is lacking
The nonmedical use of prescription drugs to improve cognitive performance hasgained attention due to concerns over its social and political implications as well asside effects and long‐term health consequences. Some researchers expect a futuretrend of an instrumental use of drugs for cognitive enhan...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2019
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| In: |
Stress and health
Year: 2019, Volume: 35, Issue: 2, Pages: 127-137 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Summary: | The nonmedical use of prescription drugs to improve cognitive performance hasgained attention due to concerns over its social and political implications as well asside effects and long‐term health consequences. Some researchers expect a futuretrend of an instrumental use of drugs for cognitive enhancement (CE). Thus, gettinginsights about causes of CE‐drug consumption is warranted before the prevalenceincreases. Because perceived stress is ubiquitous in universities and may decreasecognitive performance, one reaction to cope with stress and its consequences mightbe the instrumental use of drugs for CE, especially if other resources, such as socialsupport, are lacking. With a prospective design, randomly selected students from fourGerman universities were invited to a web‐based survey and reinterviewed after6 months (N = 2,203). Results show a 6‐month prevalence rate of self‐reported CE‐drug use of about 2%. Higher reported chronic stress is positively associated withCE‐drug use. Although social support has no main effect, stress‐buffering effects werefound. In men with low stress, more support is associated with a higher chance of self‐reported CE‐drug use. These findings can inform intervention and prevention strate-gies such as changes in drug regulation or sensitizing (potential) users to unwanted health consequences. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 02.12.2022 First Published 30 October 2018 |
| ISSN: | 1532-2998 |
| DOI: | 10.1002/smi.2846 |