This three-year exploratory study, """"""""The Social Context of Collegiate Prescription Drug Abuse,"""""""" will gather ethnographic data in order to develop and pilot a survey instrument that will measure prescription drug use among college students. This goal will be accomplished through two primary research activities: an ethnographic exploration of the social context of prescription drug use among college students and the development and piloting of a survey on specific prescription drug use patterns and related health risks in a college population.
The specific aims of this study are: 1) To utilize ethnographic techniques to explore, document, and analyze the social and cultural factors related to prescription drug use among college youth; 2) To investigate terms, attitudes and behaviors associated with specific prescription drugs in a collegiate setting; 3) To explore the risks and negative outcomes college students associate with prescription drug use; and 4) To develop and pilot a survey on social and cultural factors related to prescription drug use, specific prescription drug use patterns, and related health risks in a collegiate population. During Phase 1 of this research we will enroll approximately 120 college students (18-25 years of age) into our study who have used one or more prescription drugs (non-medically) within the last year. Sixty members of the proposed sample will be women and 60 will be men. These students will be asked to participate in an ethnographic research process consisting of structured and semi-structured interviews. Phase 1 research will provide a foundation for Phase 2 project activities that will focus on developing a survey on specific prescription drug use patterns and related health risks in a college population. This survey will be piloted with 100 students in the last year of the study, an item analysis will be conducted, and the questionnaire will be administered to a survey sample of 300 youth. The proposed exploratory research is important for several reasons. First, there is little empirical information regarding the use of prescription drugs in collegiate populations. As a result, this research addresses a significant gap in our understandings of collegiate prescription drug use. Second, this project will provide important exploratory information regarding the social context of prescription drug use among college youth, including use patterns and associated health risks.
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| Quintero, Gilbert (2009) Rx for a party: a qualitative analysis of recreational pharmaceutical use in a collegiate setting. J Am Coll Health 58:64-70 |
