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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- What are college freshmen thinking when they pop prescription drugs they dont need for any medical reason?
A new study out of the University of Maryland reveals most are thinking the drugs could be harmful. However, some of them dont care and take them anyway.
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The study was based on interviews with more than 1,250 students at a large American university. Kids who didnt believe prescription drugs posed much harm were most likely to use stimulants and pain relievers for nonmedical purposes. Those students were about ten times more likely to take the drugs than students who saw extreme danger ahead.
Among students tagged as sensation-seekers, knowing about the harm wasnt enough to keep them from taking the drugs. These students tended to use the drugs anyway.
The researchers believe their results argue against conventional wisdom, which holds most kids dont realize prescription drugs can hurt them. They also believe the finding about sensation-seekers points to an uphill battle when it comes to combating the problem.
This study suggests that educating students about the potential harm that can be caused by nonmedical use of prescription drugs is important in reducing use of these drugs by college students, study author Amelia Arria, Ph.D., was quoted as saying. It also shows that getting the message to students who are sensation-seekers, who are a high risk group for all types of drug use, might be more of a challenge to prevention specialists.
SOURCE: Prevention Science, published online September 3, 2008
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