29% of US college students think ADHD drugs improve grades

A recent survey found that many US college students mistakenly believe that abusing attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs, such as Ritalin and Adderall, will enhance their academic performance and improve their grades.

Researchers from the University of Maryland, the University of Washington, the University of Albany and the US National Institute on Drug Abuse surveyed 6,962 students without ADHD at nine colleges. Almost 29% of the students thought that using ADHD drugs would help them earn higher grades, while 38% were unsure if the drugs would help their academic performance.

Many of the students who acknowledged abusing ADHD drugs believed this myth. Slightly over 11% of the students surveyed said that they took such drugs for non-medical purposes during the previous six months, and almost 64% of that group thought their grades would improve if they used them.

Dr Jess Shatkin, a professor at NYU Langone Medical Center, who was not involved with the study, did not find the findings surprising. But, he was concerned about possible health issues they presented. No evidence suggests that using the medications improves the academic performance of students who do not have ADHD, but abusing the drugs can alter blood pressure and heart rates, lead to insomnia, cause heightened anxiety and even cause hallucinations.

Shatkin thought increasing students’ awareness that abusing ADHD drugs will not lead to higher grades might curtail the practice, and he also encouraged parents to be more mindful of how much pressure they put on their children to succeed at college.