Examining the influence school factors have on stimulant misuse among a national sample of adolescents

Introduction Over the past decade, nonmedical prescription drug misuse has been a public health concern among adolescents in the United States. One of the main prescription drug classifications commonly used for nonmedical purposes is stimulants. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between negative school experiences (e.g., disliked going to school) and lifetime and past year stimulant misuse among US. high school students nationwide. Method The present study was a secondary analysis of the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data. Participants included in the study were 9th-12th grade students (N = 8,337). Results A total of 9.7% high school students reported they had misused stimulants in their lifetime, and 8.5% reported they had misused stimulants during the past year. High school students who reported the following negative school experiences were at increased odds of reporting lifetime stimulant misuse: liked/hated going to school (adjusted OR [aOR] = 1.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.58-2.22); felt their coursework was somewhat/very boring (aOR = 1.56, 95%CI = 1.32-1.84), seldom/never meaningful (aOR = 1.69, 95%CI = 1.43-1.99), and would be somewhat/very unimportant to them later in life (aOR = 1.28, 95%CI = 1.07-1.52); and students with teachers who seldom/never let them know they were doing a good job (aOR = 1.44, 95%CI = 1.21-1.70). High school students who had a "D" grade average or lower (aOR = 2.48, 95%CI = 1.81-3.39) and skipped school on at least 1 day (aOR = 1.80, 95%CI = 1.51-2.16) were more likely to report lifetime misuse. Additionally, adolescents at increased risk for reporting stimulant misuse included males and those in higher grade levels. Conclusions Adolescents who reported having negative school experiences were at increased odds for reporting lifetime and past year stimulant misuse compared to their counterparts who reported positive school experiences. These findings should be considered when developing and implementing school-based prevention programs for stimulant misuse.