Modeling motivations for non-medical use of prescription drugs.
BACKGROUND
Non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) is a growing problem among college-aged individuals. Motivations for use of a substance have been shown to predict consumption behavior across a variety of substances, but research on motivations for engaging in NMUPD is limited. We hypothesize that Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) would support a two-factor latent structure for motivations (self-treatment and recreational) for NMUPD across three classes of drugs (stimulants, tranquilizers and sedatives, and pain relievers).


METHODS
Data were collected from 1016 undergraduates attending a large southeastern university via an online survey. Motivations for use were subjected to a CFA for those participants who reported past-year use of each drug class (tranquilizer and sedative use n=138, pain reliever use n=189, and stimulant use n=258).


RESULTS
Model fit varied across drug class. A two-factor model emerged for both pain relievers and stimulants, and each factor was positively correlated with one another and with frequency of use for both drug classes. A two-factor model was not a good fit for tranquilizers and sedatives.


CONCLUSIONS
Motives for NMUPD are a relatively understudied construct. Although our initial results suggest that a proposed framework consisting of self-treatment and recreational motives might have some utility in explaining the use of stimulants and pain relievers, more research is needed to characterize motives for tranquilizers and sedatives. Additional research is also needed to develop assessment measures that capture the full range of motives for all three classes of NMUPD.
Auburn University Department of Psychology, 226 Thach Hall, Auburn, AL 36830, United States.
Bryan G
BG
Messina
Auburn University Department of Psychology, 226 Thach Hall, Auburn, AL 36830, United States.
Nicole M
NM
Dutta
Auburn University Department of Psychology, 226 Thach Hall, Auburn, AL 36830, United States.
Mark M
MM
Silvestri
Auburn University Department of Psychology, 226 Thach Hall, Auburn, AL 36830, United States.
Andrea R
AR
Diulio
Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy, 037 James E. Foy Hall, Auburn, AL 36830, United States.
Kimberly B
KB
Garza
University of Memphis, 202 Psychology Building, Memphis, TN 38152, United States.
James G
JG
Murphy
Auburn University Department of Psychology, 226 Thach Hall, Auburn, AL 36830, United States. Electronic address: correcj@auburn.edu.
Christopher J
CJ
Correia
D000328:Adult; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009042:Motivation; D063487:Prescription Drug Misuse / Q000523:psychology*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
College students; Motives; Prescription drugs