Misperceptions of non-medical prescription drug use: a web survey of college students.
OBJECTIVE
This study compared undergraduate students' perceived versus actual prevalence rates of non-medical use of marijuana, prescription opioids and prescription stimulants.


METHODS
In 2005, a randomly selected sample of 3639 college students self-administered a Web survey regarding their substance use behaviors and attitudes (68% response rate).


RESULTS
The majority of undergraduate students overestimated the prevalence of non-medical use of prescription stimulants (70.2%) and prescription opioids (69.9%) and marijuana use (50.5%) among peers on their campus. The mean difference between perceived versus actual past-year use was considerably greater for non-medical use of prescription stimulants (mean difference=12.2, 95% CI=11.7-12.7) and prescription opioids (mean difference=8.8, 95% CI=8.3-9.2) than marijuana (mean difference=2.9, 95% CI=2.2-3.6). Multivariate regression analysis revealed overestimation of non-medical use of prescription drugs was significantly associated with gender and medical use of prescription drugs.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings provided strong evidence of misperception of non-medical prescription drug use among college students. Future research and prevention efforts should assess the impact of correcting misperceived norms on reducing non-medical prescription drug use.
McCabe
Sean Esteban
SE
University of Michigan, Substance Abuse Research Center, 2025 Traverwood Dr, Ann Arbor, MI 48105-2194, USA. plius@umich.edu
D000328:Adult; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001290:Attitude; D001519:Behavior; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D010379:Peer Group; D010465:Perception; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology
D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants