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. 2021 Jul;69(5):470-477.
doi: 10.1080/07448481.2019.1680556. Epub 2019 Oct 29.

Using a theoretical approach to predict college students' non-medical use of prescription drugs - a survival analysis

Henry N Young  1 , Farah Pathan  1 , Jaxk H Reeves  2 , Kristen N Knight  2 , FuNing Chen  2 , Elizabeth D Cox  3 , Megan A Moreno  3
Affiliations

Using a theoretical approach to predict college students' non-medical use of prescription drugs - a survival analysis

Henry N Young et al. J Am Coll Health. 2021 Jul.

Abstract

This study assesses students' non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) from college entrance to graduation, and examines factors that predict NMUPD. Participants: The study was conducted between May 2011 and September 2015 with 338 students. Methods: Longitudinal cohort study design was used to examine NMUPD across time, and NMUPD-related attitudes and subjective norms. Five yearly interviews were conducted to collect data. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to examine time to NMUPD. Results: Thirty-five percent of study participants reported NMUPD; the majority of those initiated non-medical use before their third year in college. Analyses indicated that more positive attitudes towards NMUPD (HR = 1.73, p < 0.001), increased subjective norms regarding NMUPD (HR = 1.01, p < 0.01), and gender (male) (HR= 1.89, p < 0.001) were significantly associated with sooner NMUPD. Conclusions: Findings suggest that NMUPD prevention efforts that target mutable factors such as attitudes and subjective norms should be implemented early during students' college careers.

Keywords: Prescription drugs; college students; longitudinal; nonmedical use.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interest

We have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Non-medical use of prescription drugs across college years
Notes: Categories are not mutually-exclusive.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Kaplan Meier survival function for all students
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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