Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Brian C. Houle, MPH, Sarah Lord, PhD, and Julie A. Cunningham, MPH. Inflexxion, Inc., 320 Needham Street, Suite 100, Newton, MA 02464, 617-332-6028, slord@inflexxion.com

There has been an alarming increase in the non-medical use of prescription medications among youth, particularly college students. Recent prevention efforts are attempting to respond to this public health crisis. Studies are needed to understand the beliefs and experiences of students who misuse prescription drugs. The present study examined attitudes, beliefs, and experiences of college students who misuse prescription opioid or stimulant medications. An online survey was advertised to 27 four-year colleges nationwide for two weeks via a popular social networking website for college students. Inclusion criteria were being a college student and admitting to non-medical use of prescription opioids or stimulants. Six hundred eighty-nine students completed the survey. Data validity checks removed 162 participants; 527 participants' data were used in the analysis. Of these, 435 responded to an open-ended question eliciting students' opinions about the use of street versus prescription drugs. Responses were coded based on overall context themes (moral and social acceptability, legal consequences, safety, and availability). A protocol was developed to describe the coding structure and was piloted on a random sample of 30 messages. Independent coding of these messages were compared and discrepancies were used to further refine the code scheme. Interrater reliability between two coders was assessed. Preliminary results indicate that students perceive prescription medications to be just as available, safer, and more socially acceptable than popular street drugs. Results suggest that beliefs of college students who misuse prescription drugs represent an important aspect of their risk profile and can help inform targeted prevention strategies.

Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, participants of the session will be able to

• List five beliefs of college students regarding prescription medication misuse.
• Discuss the limitations and benefits of Internet surveys for sensitive research topics.
• Compare similarities and differences between college students’ beliefs about prescription drug misuse and street drugs.

Keywords: Adolescents, Drugs

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered

Recorded presentation