Over the past 15 years there has been growing awareness that many college students without an ADHD diagnosis use ADHD drugs. On some campuses, rates of self-reported non-medical use have exceeded 30% of students.
The primary reason students report taking ADHD drugs is to enhance their academic performance. And, the strong majority of students — over 80% in a study I conducted — believe it is helpful for this purpose.
Furthermore, students who report problems with attention are more likely to report non-medical use than other students; this suggests that some self-medicate to address their perceived attention difficulties. [Read more…] about Study finds mixed results of Adderall as cognitive enhancer (seems to boost emotion more than cognition)