Prescription Drug Abuse Among College Students

描述（由申请人提供）：本次R03申请“大学生处方药滥用”的目的是提高大学生对处方药非医疗使用和转移的认识。一些来源提供的证据表明，处方药的非医疗使用在年轻人中正在增加，尤其是在大学生中。根据2002年的全国数据，在美国，18-25岁的年轻人非医疗使用可滥用处方药的比例最高。事实上，在大学里，几种可滥用处方药的非医疗使用已经显著增加

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The objective of this R03 application "Prescription Drug Abuse Among College Students" is to improve the understanding of nonmedical use and diversion of prescription drugs among college students. Several sources provide evidence that the nonmedical use of prescription drugs is increasing among young adults, most notably among college students. According to 2002 national data, young adults ages 18-25 have the highest rate of nonmedical use of abusable prescription drugs in the United States. In fact, the nonmedical use of several abusable prescription drugs has increased significantly among college students while the national prevalence of heavy episodic drinking among college students has remained steady for the past decade. The prevalence and severity of prescription drug abuse will remain a problem until more is understood about this behavior. A cross-sectional, Web-based survey will be used with a random sample of approximately 5,000 traditional-aged undergraduate students in which students are asked to provide detailed information about nonmedical use and diversion of prescription drugs. The proposed project is expected to provide the necessary data to submit a well-informed R01 proposal to examine prescription abuse on multiple college campuses. The proposed study aims to: 1) Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the prevalence of nonmedical use of prescription drugs among undergraduate college students; 2) Assess the consequences associated with the nonmedical use of prescription drugs; 3) Assess the prevalence of diversion of prescription medications by college students; 4) Determine the correlates associated with nonmedical use and diversion of prescription drugs in terms of demographic characteristics and substance use behaviors.