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Published on: September 26, 2025
Cognitive performance enhancement: misuse or self-treatment?
Alexander L Peterkin1, Catherine C Crone, Michael J Sheridan
1University of Virginia, Charlottesville 22904, USA. peterkin.alex@gmail.com
Objective:
This cross-sectional survey study examines the link between ADHD medication misuse and a positive screen for adult ADHD symptoms.
Method:
Surveys from 184 college student volunteers in Northern Virginia are collected and analyzed.
Results:
A total of 71% of ADHD stimulant misusers screen positive for ADHD symptoms. Misusers are 7 times more likely to be symptomatic for ADHD than those who do not misuse. Also, 87% of misusers indicate that they do so for academic reasons, and 76% believe that the misuse of the ADHD stimulants improve their grades.
Conclusion:
ADHD stimulant misuse in college students is found to be strongly linked to having symptoms of adult ADHD. The desire for cognitive performance enhancement in college students may be a form of self-treatment for undiagnosed ADHD. College students need more accessibility to medical diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD to reduce the incidence of misuse in the future.
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