Non-Medical Methylphenidate Use Among Medical Students: Prevalence and Association with Type A Personality Traits

To estimate the prevalence of non-medical methylphenidate use (NMU) in Turkish medical students and its association with Type A personality.

This cross-sectional study surveyed 600 of 1,275 invited medical students (47.1%) at a single public medical faculty in Türkiye in 2025. A sociodemographic/methylphenidate-use questionnaire and the Type A Personality Traits Scale were administered. NMU was operationalized as methylphenidate use for academic or social performance enhancement in students without clinician-diagnosed ADHD, regardless of prescription status. Type A differences were tested with MANOVA. Given the low event count, Firth penalized logistic regression served as the primary multivariable analysis, with standard logistic regression reported for comparison.

Lifetime methylphenidate use was 6.8% (n = 41) and current use 2.2% (n = 13); 23 students (3.8%) met NMU criteria, most commonly for academic enhancement. Awareness of methylphenidate and of peer use rose markedly from preclinical to clinical years, whereas actual use did not. Type A scores did not differ between NMU and non-NMU students. In the Firth model, peer NMU awareness and past psychiatric consultation remained associated with NMU; tentative inverse associations for male sex and the standardized Type A score should be interpreted as exploratory given the low events-per-variable ratio (3.3).

NMU prevalence was low and more closely linked to contextual correlates-peer exposure and prior psychiatric contact-than to Type A traits, which did not show a robust or stable association across analyses. Multivariable findings require replication. Prevention may benefit from focusing on peer-network dynamics and mental-health support rather than personality-based risk profiling.