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Description
This study's purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of a Greek-affiliated student program developed at San Diego State University (SDSU) focusing on reducing non-medical use of prescription stimulants. The program development was guided by the Theory of Planned behavior and aimed to change Greek members' (1) attitudes toward prescription stimulant misuse, (2) perception of risks and norms associated with the misuse of prescription stimulants, (3) knowledge of prescription stimulant basic information, (4) and intent to misuse or abuse prescription stimulant medication. The program was facilitated by a Health Educator and an SDSU student who had been formally trained on the program curriculum. The curriculum included the following sections: (1) a knowledge section that addressed the physical and legal risks of prescription stimulant misuse and abuse; (2) a norms correction section that focused on clarifying potential myths surrounding the benefits, social attitudes, and actual use of prescription stimulants. It was hypothesized that a norms correction approach would change a participant's attitude toward prescription stimulants, perception about prescription stimulant misuse, and knowledge of prescription stimulant basic information. This, in turn, would reduce participant intent to misuse prescription stimulants. The primary outcome measure of the study was behavioral intention to misuse prescription stimulants. A reduction in the behavioral intention to misuse was likely the result of changes in attitude, perception, and knowledge surrounding prescription stimulant misuse. There were 44 participants in the study. Each participant completed the 25 question pre-workshop measurement. Participants were screened for the inclusion criteria of being members of a Greek organization and an undergraduate student at SDSU. The study took place over the 2015 fall semester and included; IRB approval, program planning and implementation, and data collection and analysis. Through paired t-tests, the hypothesis was supported. Overall, the program did show promise in reducing participants' intent to misuse, changing participants' attitudes and perception of prescription stimulant misuse, and increasing participants' knowledge of prescription stimulants from baseline. The study's findings also indicated relationships among various high risk behaviors. These findings help to advance the field of prevention programming, specifically prescription stimulants at a collegiate level.
