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Prevalence of ADHD symptom malingering, nonmedical use, and drug diversion among college-enrolled adults with a prescription for stimulant medications
- Source :
- Journal of addictive diseases. 38(2)
- Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- Malingering of ADHD symptoms is a potential means of nonmedical use of prescription stimulants (NMUPS). The Subtle ADHD Malingering Screener (SAMS) provides a potential avenue for identification of symptom malingering. However, no real world evidence of this scale has been published to date. The goal of this study was to examine patterns of use of stimulant prescriptions and to evaluate the ability of the SAMS to identify NMUPS. This study employed a cross-sectional observational design to administer an online, self-administered survey instrument in a convenience sample of college-enrolled young adults with a prescription for stimulant medications at a campus pharmacy. Respondents were asked about their prescription characteristics, nonmedical use and drug diversion behavior, along with ratings on the SAMS. Over 33% of respondents self-reported past-year NMUPS and 18% reported past-year drug diversion. Over 35% of respondents rated NMUPS as being slight or no risk and 55% were classified by the SAMS as likely to be malingering or exaggerating their symptoms. Individuals reporting past-year NMUPS or diversion consistently scored higher on the SAMS. The SAMS showed potential for future application in the pharmacy setting. Further research is needed to evaluate the relationship of SAMS to NMUPS or drug diversion. The results of this study also highlight several growing issues with the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD among young adults enrolled in college. Addressing perception of risk, social norms, and providing healthcare professionals with tools to prevent misdiagnosis is critical to the management of this issue.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Male
medicine.medical_specialty
Malingering
Prescription Drug Diversion
Universities
medicine.medical_treatment
Medicine (miscellaneous)
Pharmacy
Young Adult
Surveys and Questionnaires
medicine
Prevalence
Humans
Medical prescription
Young adult
Psychiatry
Students
Prescription Drug Misuse
business.industry
General Medicine
Drug diversion
medicine.disease
Risk perception
Stimulant
Psychiatry and Mental health
Clinical Psychology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
Observational study
Central Nervous System Stimulants
Female
business
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 15450848
- Volume :
- 38
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of addictive diseases
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....733d49d97e0c2ae1d344fbdf562a19ac