Exploring the understanding, source of availability and level of access of cognitive enhancers among university students in the United Arab Emirates: A qualitative study

IF 1.8 4区医学 Q3 CLINICAL NEUROLOGY

Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental Pub Date : 2023-11-30 DOI:10.1002/hup.2888

Safia Sharif, Suzanne Fergus, Amira Guirguis, Nigel Smeeton, Fabrizio Schifano

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective

The use of prescription stimulants for cognitive enhancement by healthy university students, identified as the largest cohort of cognitive enhancer (CE) users, is of growing interest. The purpose of this study was to look at the understanding, perception, experience, and level of access of CEs among healthy university students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Methods

The study was conducted in six highly competitive university programmes. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 university students to discuss their own experiences and those of their friends and peers regarding the use of prescription stimulants. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven teaching faculty staff members (registered pharmacists and medical doctors) to explore their views on the use of CEs in their university.

Results

Data were analysed thematically for the identification of themes and subthemes within the data using coding. It was found that, ‘Adderall’ was the most common prescribed CE drug and caffeine super strength pills were the most common non-prescribed CE drug, both reported to enhance concentration, motivation, and meet academic deadlines.

Conclusions

It is expected that the findings of this study will be of interest to a wide range of services in UAE universities. This will enable them to raise awareness about the use of CEs among students.

查看原文本刊更多论文

探索认知增强剂在阿拉伯联合酋长国大学生中的理解、可用性来源和获取水平:一项定性研究。

目的:作为认知增强剂(cognitive enhancer, CE)最大的使用者群体，健康大学生使用处方兴奋剂增强认知能力的研究日益受到关注。本研究的目的是了解阿拉伯联合酋长国(UAE)健康大学生对电子商务的理解、感知、体验和获取水平。方法:研究在六个竞争激烈的大学项目中进行。对18名大学生进行了半结构化访谈，以讨论他们自己以及他们的朋友和同龄人关于使用处方兴奋剂的经历。此外，我们亦与七名教职员(注册药剂师和医生)进行半结构化访谈，以探讨他们对大学使用个人资料中心的看法。结果:使用编码对数据中的主题和子主题进行了主题分析。研究发现，“阿得拉”是最常见的处方CE药物，而咖啡因超强药片是最常见的非处方CE药物，这两种药物都能提高注意力、动力和完成学业期限。结论:预计本研究的结果将对阿联酋大学的广泛服务感兴趣。这将使他们能够提高学生对使用电子教育的认识。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental 医学-精神病学

CiteScore

4.10

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

6-12 weeks

期刊介绍： Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental provides a forum for the evaluation of clinical and experimental research on both new and established psychotropic medicines. Experimental studies of other centrally active drugs, including herbal products, in clinical, social and psychological contexts, as well as clinical/scientific papers on drugs of abuse and drug dependency will also be considered. While the primary purpose of the Journal is to publish the results of clinical research, the results of animal studies relevant to human psychopharmacology are welcome. The following topics are of special interest to the editors and readers of the Journal: -All aspects of clinical psychopharmacology- Efficacy and safety studies of novel and standard psychotropic drugs- Studies of the adverse effects of psychotropic drugs- Effects of psychotropic drugs on normal physiological processes- Geriatric and paediatric psychopharmacology- Ethical and psychosocial aspects of drug use and misuse- Psychopharmacological aspects of sleep and chronobiology- Neuroimaging and psychoactive drugs- Phytopharmacology and psychoactive substances- Drug treatment of neurological disorders- Mechanisms of action of psychotropic drugs- Ethnopsychopharmacology- Pharmacogenetic aspects of mental illness and drug response- Psychometrics: psychopharmacological methods and experimental design