Gutenberg Open Science: Life context of pharmacological academic performance enhancement among university students : a qualitative approach

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://doi.org/10.25358/openscience-7154

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DC Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Hildt, Elisabeth	-
dc.contributor.author	Lieb, Klaus	-
dc.contributor.author	Franke, Andreas	-
dc.date.accessioned	2022-06-15T08:29:14Z	-
dc.date.available	2022-06-15T08:29:14Z	-
dc.date.issued	2014	-
dc.identifier.uri	https://openscience.ub.uni-mainz.de/handle/20.500.12030/7168	-
dc.description.abstract	BACKGROUND: Academic performance enhancement or cognitive enhancement (CE) via stimulant drug use has received increasing attention. The question remains, however, whether CE solely represents the use of drugs for achieving better academic or workplace results or whether CE also serves various other purposes. The aim of this study was to put the phenomenon of pharmacological academic performance enhancement via prescription and illicit (psycho-) stimulant use (Amphetamines, Methylphenidate) among university students into a broader context. Specifically, we wanted to further understand students' experiences, the effects of use on students and other factors, such as pressure to perform in their academic and private lives. METHODS: A sample of 18 healthy university students reporting the non-medical use of prescription and illicit stimulants for academic performance enhancement was interviewed in a face-to-face setting. The leading questions were related to the situations and context in which the students considered the non-medical use of stimulants. RESULTS: Based on the resultant transcript, two independent raters identified six categories relating to the life context of stimulant use for academic performance enhancement: Context of stimulant use beyond academic performance enhancement, Subjective experience of enhancement, Timing of consumption, Objective academic results, Side effects, Pressure to perform. CONCLUSIONS: The answers reveal that academic performance enhancement through the use of stimulants is not an isolated phenomenon that solely aims at enhancing cognition to achieve better academic results but that the multifaceted life context in which it is embedded is of crucial relevance. The participants not only considered the stimulants advantageous for enhancing academic performance, but also for leading an active life with a suitable balance between studying and time off. The most common reasons given for stimulant use were to maximize time, to increase motivation and to cope with memorizing. According to the interviews, there is a considerable discrepancy between subjective experiences and objective academic results achieved.	en_GB
dc.description.sponsorship	DFG, Open Access-Publizieren Universität Mainz / Universitätsmedizin	de
dc.language.iso	eng	de
dc.rights	CC BY	*
dc.rights.uri	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/	*
dc.subject.ddc	610 Medizin	de_DE
dc.subject.ddc	610 Medical sciences	en_GB
dc.title	Life context of pharmacological academic performance enhancement among university students : a qualitative approach	en_GB
dc.type	Zeitschriftenaufsatz	de
dc.identifier.doi	http://doi.org/10.25358/openscience-7154	-
jgu.type.dinitype	article	en_GB
jgu.type.version	Published version	de
jgu.type.resource	Text	de
jgu.organisation.department	FB 04 Medizin	de
jgu.organisation.department	FB 05 Philosophie und Philologie	de
jgu.organisation.number	2700	-
jgu.organisation.number	7920	-
jgu.organisation.name	Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz	-
jgu.rights.accessrights	openAccess	-
jgu.journal.title	BMC medical ethics	de
jgu.journal.volume	15	de
jgu.pages.alternative	Art. 23	de
jgu.publisher.year	2014	-
jgu.publisher.name	BioMed central	de
jgu.publisher.place	London	de
jgu.publisher.uri	http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6939-15-23	de
jgu.publisher.issn	1472-6939	de
jgu.organisation.place	Mainz	-
jgu.identifier.pmid	24606831	-
jgu.subject.ddccode	610	de
opus.date.modified	2018-08-08T07:35:40Z	-
opus.subject.dfgcode	00-000	-
opus.organisation.string	FB 04: Medizin: Psychiatrische Klinik und Poliklinik	de_DE
opus.organisation.string	FB 05: Philosophie und Philologie: Philosophisches Seminar	de_DE
opus.identifier.opusid	25955	-
opus.importsource	pubmed	-
opus.institute.number	0432	-
opus.institute.number	0508	-
opus.metadataonly	false	-
opus.type.contenttype	Keine	de_DE
opus.type.contenttype	None	en_EN
opus.affiliated	Hildt, Elisabeth	-
opus.affiliated	Lieb, Klaus	-
opus.affiliated	Franke, Andreas	-
jgu.publisher.doi	10.1186/1472-6939-15-23	de
jgu.organisation.ror	https://ror.org/023b0x485
Appears in collections:	DFG-OA-Publizieren (2012 - 2017)

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