Illegal Exchange and Non-Medical use of Adderall among College Students

How to Solve the Illegal Exchange and Non-Medical use of Adderall among College Students: A Research Proposal
Introduction
As numerous researchers have pointed out in recent years, the spread of “smart” drugs is on the rise across college campuses (Arria & DuPont, 2010; Frood, 2018; Vrecko, 2015). So-called “study drugs” like Adderall, which is an amphetamine, are used by students to help them study, cram, focus, and get ready for finals or get through a particularly intense stretch of work during particularly trying times of the school year. As Frood (2018) notes, “in a survey of tens of thousands of people, 14% reported using stimulants at least once in the preceding 12 months in 2017, up from 5% in 2015.” It goes without saying that the illegal exchange of such drugs is a problem that needs to be addressed. How to address it is the aim this research proposes to answer.
Problem Statement
The illegal exchange and non-medical use of Adderall among college students is a problem that universities need to address in order to reduce the spread of the “pill” epidemic that is currently washing over the U.S.
Research Question
The question this study asks is: How can college administrators prevent the spread or illegal exchange and non-medical use of Adderall among college students?
Study Design
The research design that will be used for this study is the qualitative design. As the nature of the research is exploratory, the qualitative design fits best with the purpose of the research (Creswell, 2003). The interview method will be used to investigate the problem and to obtain data from stakeholders in universities around the nation. While the survey method could be used as well, that approach would require a concrete idea about how to solve this problem; at this stage, as Vrecko (2015) shows, there is a need for further research regarding the spread of these pills and what can be done to stop that spread. One concept specifically that Vrecko (2015) mentions that needs to be investigated further is Lovell's concept of “pharmaceutical leakage” (p. 303). By interviewing both students and administrators, this study aims to be able to answer the question of how to solve the problem of illegal Adderall usage on college campuses among students.
Literature Review
Bandura (2018) shows that one of the major ways in which behavior is impacted is through peers; the other ways are through groups and media. Drug use among young adults, particularly college students, is not an isolated incident (Arria & DuPont, 2010) nor is it one that is unpopular (Frood, 2018). Students from all walks of life and background are using “smart drugs” to boost their ability to focus. This is a problem because using drugs like this when they are not prescribed can lead to a habit of drug use that can ultimately destroy lives. To better understand how this process works, an understanding of how social psychologists like Bandura (2018) have explained behaviors is required.
People engage in socially accepted behaviors or conform to normative behaviors within their peer groups because they have a social inclination to conform—to seek acceptance, to model their own behavior after what others do, and to look to others for support. If using Adderall is a norm in colleges and is viewed as acceptable by a significant percentage of students, the problematic behavior may be the result of group acceptance. Why then do groups accept this behavior?
As Vrecko (2015) has shown, the problem of using drugs like Adderall and Ritalin is serious because it can negatively impact students’ lives. Vrecko’s case study showed how badly a student can suffer from such addictions and why it needs to be addressed now, and sooner rather than later. His study did not show, however, an effective way of solving the problem—and that is why this study needs to be conducted. By better understanding how Adderall usage spreads across college campuses and what experience administrators or even students have in preventing the spread or dealing with the issue, stakeholders can formulate a strategy to solve the problem. To formulate the strategy, understanding of the nature of the problem must be acquired first.

Methodology
The method of collecting data for this study is the interview method. The sample size for qualitative studies using interviews is typically smaller than for surveys, which tend to yield quantitative results—and the reason for this is that interviews can yield much more in-depth answers to questions that can then be interpreted using Grounded Theory, which allows meaning to be inductively obtained through categorization of the findings (Creswell, 2003). That is the approach that is used here.
The sample will be obtained by using a combination of purposive sampling and snowball sampling. The researcher will first start with subjects who are known Adderall users in college and then proceed outward from there by asking for permission to contact other known Adderall users and suppliers so as to obtain information from them that can be useful in answering the research question. The sample size that is selected for this study is 30 students and 10 administrators. The interview questions that will be asked in this study include the following:
Interview Questions for Students
1) Are you aware that using Adderall in a non-medical situation could be harmful for your health?
2) Do you feel that you or other students use Adderall because you have to—because the amount of work put on you in your courses is so overwhelming?
3) Do you think that if your professors put less stress on you all at the same time that you would be able to study and complete your work without the use of Adderall?
4) Did you know of this drug before you came to this college?
5) How did you gain access to this drug?
6) Would you recommend it to others or do you feel that it is best if students do not take up this habit?
7) Do you feel it is a bad habit to take up?
8) Do you feel that you could quit this habit if you had to tomorrow?
9) How do you get your supply of Adderall?
10) Is that a common method or do others obtain their Adderall in different ways?
11) If you had to stop the spread of Adderall, what suggestion would you have for making that work?
Interview Questions for Administrators
1) Are you aware of an Adderall problem on campus among students?
2) What do you think is the nexus of this problem?
3) Are you aware of any means to solve this problem and prevent its spread?
4) What suggestions would you have for a college administrator looking to address this issue?
5) Have you discussed this issue with students in the past, and if so what sense did they give to you of it actually being a problem for them?
6) Do you know how students obtain the drug?
Ethical Considerations
Because the study is asking questions of students that could potentially get them into academic or legal trouble, anonymity must be absolutely guaranteed. This is important not only for the students’ safety and protection but also for the validity of the study. If the study were not able to show that participants in the interview process fully trusted the interviewer enough to answer questions honestly, it could be dismissed as invalid and unreliable. Participants will need a guarantee that all information from them will be kept anonymous.
Another ethical consideration is the problem of researcher bias. Removing bias is an important part of doing research, and while it is not always possible to remove it 100%, efforts should be made to at least bracket it out (Creswell, 2003). One way to do this is for the researcher to state up front any ideas about the issue or expected findings he may have. This can include any background that the researcher has on the topic. By bracketing out bias, the research can be better able to set it aside and proceed to the issue without being sidetracked by preconceived notions.
Conclusion
An exploration of how the spread of Adderall among college students takes place, why they use, and what ideas students and administrators have for stopping the spread is needed to address the issue of non-medical usage of Adderall in universities. Because the problem is habit-forming and dangerous and on the rise it needs to be addressed: this qualitative study using the interview method aims to provide a better understanding of how to solve the issue.


References
Arria, A. M., & DuPont, R. L. (2010). Nonmedical prescription stimulant use among
college students: why we need to do something and what we need to do. Journal of addictive diseases, 29(4), 417-426.
Bandura, A. (2018). Toward a psychology of human agency: Pathways and reflections. 
Perspectives on Psychological Science, 13(2), 130-136.
Creswell, J. (2003). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods
Approaches.  California: Sage Publication.
Frood, A. (2018). Use of ‘smart’ drugs on the rise. Retrieved from
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05599-8
Vrecko, S. (2015). Everyday drug diversions: A qualitative study of the illicit exchange
and non-medical use of prescription stimulants on a university campus. Social Science & Medicine, 131, 297-304.