Non-Medical Methylphenidate Use Among Medical Students: Prevalence and Association with Type A Personality Traits.
Saved in:
| Title: | Non-Medical Methylphenidate Use Among Medical Students: Prevalence and Association with Type A Personality Traits. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Sari, Mesut (AUTHOR), Çobaner, Mustafa (AUTHOR), Ayvat, Canan (AUTHOR), İmrek, Yasemin (AUTHOR), Göl Özcan, Güler (AUTHOR), Öztürk, Yusuf (AUTHOR), Tufan, Ali Evren (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Substance Use & Misuse. 2026, Vol. 61 Issue 10, p1767-1776. 10p. |
| Subjects: | Substance abuse risk factors, Substance abuse prevention, Substance abuse, Risk assessment, School environment, Cross-sectional method, Mathematical variables, Medical education, Data analysis, Mental health services, Mental health, T-test (Statistics), Mothers, Multiple regression analysis, Affinity groups, Sex distribution, Disease prevalence, Multivariate analysis, Social norms, Chi-squared test, Mann Whitney U Test, Descriptive statistics, Neural enhancement (Enhancement medicine), Odds ratio, Personality, Medical schools, Fathers, Research, Academic achievement, Analysis of variance, Statistics, One-way analysis of variance, Methylphenidate, Psychology of medical students, Personality tests, Interpersonal relations, Comparative studies, Social support, Data analysis software, Confidence intervals, Ergogenic aids, Medical referrals |
| Geographic Terms: | Türkiye |
| Abstract: | Aim: To estimate the prevalence of non-medical methylphenidate use (NMU) in Turkish medical students and its association with Type A personality. Method: This cross-sectional study surveyed 600 of 1,275 invited medical students (47.1%) at a single public medical faculty in Türkiye in 2025. A sociodemographic/methylphenidate-use questionnaire and the Type A Personality Traits Scale were administered. NMU was operationalized as methylphenidate use for academic or social performance enhancement in students without clinician-diagnosed ADHD, regardless of prescription status. Type A differences were tested with MANOVA. Given the low event count, Firth penalized logistic regression served as the primary multivariable analysis, with standard logistic regression reported for comparison. Results: Lifetime methylphenidate use was 6.8% (n = 41) and current use 2.2% (n = 13); 23 students (3.8%) met NMU criteria, most commonly for academic enhancement. Awareness of methylphenidate and of peer use rose markedly from preclinical to clinical years, whereas actual use did not. Type A scores did not differ between NMU and non-NMU students. In the Firth model, peer NMU awareness and past psychiatric consultation remained associated with NMU; tentative inverse associations for male sex and the standardized Type A score should be interpreted as exploratory given the low events-per-variable ratio (3.3). Conclusion: NMU prevalence was low and more closely linked to contextual correlates—peer exposure and prior psychiatric contact—than to Type A traits, which did not show a robust or stable association across analyses. Multivariable findings require replication. Prevention may benefit from focusing on peer-network dynamics and mental-health support rather than personality-based risk profiling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Substance Use & Misuse is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
|
Full text is not displayed to guests.
Login for full access.
|
|
Be the first to leave a comment!
