In a 2012 study published by the Journal of American College Health, by senior year, Adderall and other prescription stimulants are offered to two-thirds of college students. Furthermore, about 31 percent are taking the drug in hopes to enhance their concentration to get better grades (Zadrozny 2013). Students who take Adderall that don’t have ADHD report that they have a increased sense of focus, motivation, and concentration, which are all the ingredients you need to have for a successful all-nighter to help on providing an added boost before an exam. With characteristics such as difficulties in focusing, reasoning, problem solving and planning, ADHD is a neurobehavioral-based disorder and is associated with an insufficient amount of dopamine (Student Health: Drug & Alcohol Abuse among College Students 2015). Adderall is enticing to students because they believe it can help them perform enhance their academic skills. On the other hand, some students abuse the drug because simply for the high it gives
This article connects with other articles because it also highlights how some college students fail to realize the adverse side effects of taking and selling prescription stimulants due to the fact that it is a common practice in their environment, and there is little negative stigma attached to taking pills. The article from the Society for Prevention Research because found that when it comes to college students and drugs, there is a prevalent misuse of prescription stimulants due to dangerous misconceptions of the risks posed by misusing prescription stimulants. This article also gives an example of a study conducted by Amelia Arria in “2006 found that students who perceive prescription stimulants as relatively harmless are ten times more likely to use them than those who think that the drugs are extremely harmful”(Society for Prevention Research, 2008). This relates to the article from the University of South Carolina because they both thoroughly explain how the common misconceptions of prescription stimulants influence the prevalence of college students who misuse them. The article by Christian Teter, Sean McCabe, Kristy LaGrange, James Cranford, and Carol Boyd gives an overview of various reasons why some
As college is a time for new friends and new experiences all the while being a stressful time for all students, the most common motives for the use of drugs among college students include help for concentration, happiness, experimentation, and social interaction or merely to get “high” (Boyd, 2006). This need in college students for experimentation or academic support can lead to a number of effects. Short-term and long-term use of such substances can lead to numerous injuries, health problems, and neurological problems. More deaths, illness...
The point at which a person comes to the level of desperation to risk the rest of their lives for a decent grade in secondary and postsecondary education occurs all too often. Many college students around the largest universities of the United States have experienced this feeling of desperation, so naturally they tried to find a solution. The solution falls into the hands of Amphetamine or Dextroamphetamine, known better as Adderall, a staggering amount of the time. Students obtain Adderall illegally, as it is a prescription drug, for the common belief around United States college campuses that it improves students’ focus and attention span, while also prolonging the time students can go without sleep. Adderall can be better understood through the explanations of its legal and illegal uses along with the success of both, the side effects and legal consequences of its illegal use, and with how the illegal uses of Adderall and the drug itself will continue into the future.
Within the United States, prescription drug abuse is the most common among students and teenagers.
One of the sociological theories is conflict theory. The conflict theory deals with people's level on wealth, or class. The conflict theory says that social change is beneficial, contrary to focuses on social order. In the story of the woman and her children, the conflict theory plays a big role on the situation. Police of higher class are threatening the homeless woman. The conflict theory is a constant struggle of people of higher class over powering people of lower class, or the weaker. The police are trying to over power the woman by telling her to leave. Even though the woman and her children were doing nothing wrong, the police used their power to tell her to leave. Also the people of the area showed their conflict theory by telling the police officers to come. They must have felt embarrassed to have a woman of such lower class to be around them. They used their power of class to have the woman removed from their community. The woman wants to be there because she has no home and it is a good community to be in, but the people look at it as an embarrassment to them because it makes their area look bad for someone of such lower class to be around them. The conflict theory is unique to all other theories because it separates people into categories determined by their wealth and standards. Their status is the element that categorizes them, weather it is class, race, or gender. The conflict theory do not always use class, race, and gender all at once. In this situation race and gender is not a main issue, although gender could be a reason, but it would fall under the feminist theory. This story is mainly dealing with class. Through all this conflict the woman feels over powered and domina...
With a sociological approach for education, a teacher is able maintain a holistic view of their role as a teacher and the connections between the classroom and their participants. This theory can be learned, then similar to the learning of morals, cannot be unlearned. For the teacher’s lens, sociology acts the zoom mechanism for macro to micro perspectives of the influences on the classroom. While applying this theory teacher are able to adjust and adapt culturally responsive teaching with an increased understanding of their teacher identity, a more informed understanding of their community, and a critical perspective of curriculum. The concepts of sociology can be applied with the sociological imagination to teacher identity and historical
A drug is a substance that alters the mind, body or both. Drug use is an increasing problem among teenagers in colleges today. Most drug use begins in the preteen and teenage years, the years most crucial in the maturation process (Shiromoto 5). During these years adolescents are faced with difficult tasks of discovering their self identity, clarifying their sexual roles, assenting independence, learning to cope with authority and searching for goals that would give their lives meaning. Drugs are readily available, adolescents are curious and venerable, and there is peer pressure to experiment, and there is a temptation to escape from conflicts. The use of drugs by teenagers is the result of a combination of factors such as peer pressure, curiosity, and availability. Drugs addiction among adolescents in turn lead to depression and suicide (Shiromoto 12).
According a study conducted by the University of Michigan, 7.4 percent of seniors in high school have abused Adderall last year. [“Adderall Abuse Increases Among High School Students”] In addition, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that full time college students (ages eighteen to twenty-two) are twice as likely to abuse the drug [“Adderall Addiction: Students Misuse Drug to Gain Boost While Studying.”]. Why is Adderall so popular among adolescents and young students? Although some adolescents use the drug in order to feel the hyperactive “speed” effect, many more use it in order to focus on their academic pursuits. Students often take Adderall studying and/or before taking finals, SATs, ACTs, projects, and other stressful school work so they can help ensure higher grades and maintain a high GPA. Not only does it help these students to concentrate on their content, but the stimulant property of the drug helps to keep the student awake during all-night cram sessions or long back-to-back finals. Another contribution to the popular...
Abuse of drugs has not however been limited to the professional athletic world. According to research conducted by Dr. Philip Veliz, Dr. Carol Boyd, and Dr. Sean Esteban McCabe, there has been a connection discovered between the abuse of ADHD medication and male athletes in high school. Beyond sports, there has been a recent development that is becoming a cause for concern in high school and college classrooms. More and more students have admitted to abusing the drug Adderall. They have turned to it in the hope of improving focus, helping their memory during study sessions, and increase performance on exams. This is an issue that is demanding a solution.
As the saying goes, “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” American college students of the 21st century have been forcefully subjected to highly competitive environments due to a multitude of external factors. As of late, the prescription drug, Adderall has become the drug of choice for ambitious college students, and has earned the title of being today’s college candy and academic steroid. First introduced and approved by the U.S. FDA, Adderall became the common treatment for those suffering from ADHD and narcolepsy. The drug is considered a schedule II stimulant, falling in the same category as cocaine and codeine due to its addictive nature (Tran). Nicknamed “addy” by college students, Adderall and its effects have been proven to be advantageous to many seeking to maximize work productivity; the drug keeps students energized and engaged in their studies for hours on end (N.S.). As reported by the U.S. Department of Human Health and Human Services, “among persons aged 18 to 22, full-time college students were twice as likely to use Adderall non-medically in the past year as those who had not been in college at all or were only part-time students” (U.S.). What essentially persuades a college student to take Adderall non-medically? A student’s competitive environment may be an influential factor. The issue of Adderall abuse among college campuses is concerning due to the dangerous short and long term effects in which many of its users are unaware of. An analysis of Adderall usage among college students will be performed in order to determine what can be done to prevent Adderall abuse in college students.
The national institute of health which defined the Substance drug abuse as “chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences”. The NIH found that the most common substances abused by teenagers are: Alcohol, Marijuana, K2 or spice, opioids such as hydrocodone and oxycodone, stimulant such as Adderall and Ritalin, and tranquilizer such as Xanax. However, substance abuse consider an epidemic health problem affects millions of adolescent in the united states which return in sever long term consequences (National institute of health,
Over the last decade, a new epidemic has risen in America regarding the sustained trend in teens abusing and misusing stimulant drugs prescribed for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), specifically Ritalin and Adderall. There has been an increase in the number of teens diagnosed with ADHD and practitioners prescribing stimulants as treatment. These drugs are known in the teen community as the so-called “study drug”. An alarming high percentage of teens that are not diagnosed with ADHD are using this drug in attempt to achieve academic success as well as abusing it for recreational purposes. Due to the increase in teens being diagnosed with ADHD and being prescribed stimulants, the availability of ADHD stimulants has increased and are being abused and misused by other teens. In addition, caregiver’s lax attitudes as well as not supporting school safety prescription policies, has contributed to this disturbing trend in teens misusing and abusing the so-called “Study Drug”.
College can be a challenge with endless papers, tests, and other tasks. A pill that allows extreme focus helps accomplish necessary tasks. Adderall is a prescription medication given to patients with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Jaffe). However, this drug has become known as a “smart drug” around college campuses (“Daily News & Analysis”). About 6.4 percent of college students have taken Adderall without a prescription (Carver). At more competitive schools, about twenty-five percent of students have taken Adderall (Pantovich). Students take the drug with hope to improve a grade. However, in the long run, the student only hurts himself or herself.
McCabe, S. E., Teter, C. J., Boyd, C. J., & D, P. (2006, October 26). Illicit use of specific prescription stimulants among college students: prevalence, motives, and routes of administration. National institutes of health. Retrieved December 2, 2013, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1794223/