Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Jacquin, Kristine

Committee Member

Williams, Carrick

Committee Member

Eakin, Deborah

Date of Degree

12-12-2009

Original embargo terms

MSU Only Indefinitely

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Campus Access Only

Major

Clinical Psychology

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Psychology

Abstract

Researchers have argued that a reason for non-medical use of prescription psychostimulants is to self-medicate an undiagnosed case of ADHD. Therefore, this study examined neuropsychological complaints in college students with and without a history of prescription psychostimulant use. College students (N = 615) completed an Internet-based survey assessing behaviors associated with prescription psychostimulant use and symptoms of neuropsychological impairment. The results of the current study support the hypothesis that college students who non-medically use prescription psychostimulants report more symptoms of cognitive impairment (i.e., memory and attention complaints) than college students classified as non-users. Complaints about memory and attention were as common in non-medical users as medical users. Overall, the results suggest that non-medical users may use prescription psychostimulants due to perceived symptoms of ADHD.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/16335

Comments

prescription psychostimulants||neuropsychological complaints||memory and attention||non-medical use||ADHD||undiagnosed ADHD

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