Research Proposal Presentation 4700

Adderall Abuse

Group I
Catherine Anderson

Honeylet Ballesteros
Bryan Elam

Denmark Lanuza

What is the prevalence of Adderall abuse among college students on Oahu from 2008-2013?

Problem Statement
Adderall is one of the most widely abused illicit drugs on college campuses today (Hanson et al, 2013) (DL). Students report many different reasons for abusing the drug. Some of the reported reasons are academic performance enhancement; recreational use because of its stimulant effects; and some are legitimately using it to manage ADHD. Therefore it is important to determine just how widespread the abuse of Adderall is among our nations college students. The use of Adderall is so prevalent that even social media are involved. One of the popular social media sites is called Twitter which is a website where users post status updates, or tweets. Hanson (2013) (DL) found that tweets mentioning the use of Adderall for academic enhancements peaked during the period of final exams. Another issue that has been disturbing is that students who use this drug do not feel guilty.

Brain with Adderall Abuse

Psychology of Argument
The purpose of this study is for social education. Adderall has become very popular amongst the college population to the point that it is a relatively accepted means of study enhancement and recreation. By bringing to the forefront the prevalence of the drug and the effects of it, awareness about Adderall abuse will reach publicity levels that will most likely propagate necessary changes on college campus.

Purpose Statement
The purpose of this study is to explore the prevalence of Adderall abuse among college students in Oahu from 2008-2013.

Theoretical Framework
Dungans Dynamic Integration Model uses a holistic approach to nursing and states that a nurse should approach care thinking about the mind, body, and spirit equally. Armed with the knowledge of just how widespread Adderall abuse among college students is, the nurse will be able to highlight its harmful physiologic effects on the mind and body. Hopefully, this knowledge will turn around this alarming trend of abusing stimulants such as Adderall. Furthermore, the spirit can be influenced in a positive way by offering alternatives to Adderall which will influence students to make safer decisions rather than the dangerous and destructive choice to abuse drugs.

Conceptual and Operational Definition

The variable in this research is Adderall abuse, which is defined as taking Adderall with no prescription or more than the prescribed dosage. Adderall abuse will be measured with the use of a questionnaire. Using the nominal level of measurement, participants are asked if they take Adderall with prescription or not. Moreover, participants who take Adderall with prescription are further asked if the drug is taken more than the prescribed dosage or not using the nominal level of measurement.

Research Design
Exploratory descriptive design will be used to answer the research question.
The study will be held in a field setting. The time of data collection will be cross-sectional A random sample will be used to assume that every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected. The type of data to be collected is qualitative. External validity is addressed by random sampling. A concern for internal validity for this research would likely have is mortality.

Sample
This research will utilize a nonprobability sample. And convenience sample will be used by gathering

20 students from each college campus on Oahu.

Data Collection/ Tools

Questionnaire

Data Analysis
To answer the research question, a descriptive analysis will be used to summarize and describe data Content analysis to structure the unstructured data Frequency tabulation will be used to summarize the data. Using the measures of central tendency, the mode will be used

A descriptive summary of the data will also be obtained to explain the chart.

Consent Form
Before filling out the questionnaire, participants will be required to sign a consent form. The investigators will make sure that participants are not coerced to sign the form.

The study and the information needed from the participants must be fully explained before signing the consent form.
Investigators will explain that any participant is allowed to withdraw at any given time with no consequence. Risk and benefits from the study will be explained.

Confidentiality
The procedures used to protect the patients confidentiality will be taken very seriously to ensure their safety. Name or other personal identifiers will not be used in this study. The only information that will be collected will be age, gender, preexisting conditions (ADHD or ADD and Narcolepsy). The only person who will have access to the information will be authorized personnel such as the principal investigators (listed above)

Consent Form
Cost and/or Compensation for ParticipationThere are no costs for the patient to participate in this study. The patient will receive no compensation for participating in this study. Your signature below indicates that you have read the information provided above and you are willing to participate in this study. ______________________________________________ Signature of the Participant ______________________________________________ Witness Date _____________________

References
Advokat, C. D., Guidry, D., & Martino, L. (2008). Licit and illicit use of medications for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in undergraduate college students. Journal Of American College Health, 56(6), 601-606 DeSantis, A. D., Webb, E. M., & Noar, S. M. (2008). Illicit Use of prescription ADHD medications on a college campus: A multimethodological Journal Of American College Health, 57(3), 315-324 approach.

Farah, M., Haimm, C., Sankoorikal, G., & Chatterjee, A. (2009). When we enhance cognition with Adderall, do we sacrifice creativity? A preliminary study. Psychopharmacology, 202(1-3), 541-547. doi:10.1007/s00213-008-1369-3
Hanson, C., Burton, S., Giraud-Carrier, C., West, J., Barnes, M., & Hansen, B. (2013). Tweaking and tweeting: exploring twitter for nonmedical use of a psychostimulant drug (Adderall) among college students. Journal Of Medical Internet Research, 15(4), e62. doi:10.2196/jmir.2503 Herman, L., Shtayermman, O., Aksnes, B., Anzalone, M., Cormerais, A., & Liodice, C. (2011). The use of prescription stimulants to enhance academic performance among college students in health care programs. The Journal Of Physician Assistant Education: The Official Journal Of The Physician Assistant Education Association, 22(4), 15-22