College students who used prescription stimulants to study were not compensating for inherent academic weakness but rather for declining performance driven by increasing cannabis and alcohol problems.
Read this if you are a college student using stimulants to study and want to understand what the research shows.
38% of students used prescription stimulants for studying by year 4
What the researchers found
Researchers followed 984 college students over four annual waves. Over a third (38%) reported using prescription stimulants for studying by year 4. The key finding challenged the "smart drug" narrative: stimulant use for studying was not driven by students seeking an academic edge, but was associated with a trajectory of escalating substance use, increased class-skipping, and declining GPA.
Canabis use disorder predicted increases in skipping class, which was associated with declining GPA, which in turn was associated with stimulant use for studying. Alcohol use disorder showed the same pattern.
Why it matters
The "study drug" phenomenon is often portrayed as ambitious students seeking a cognitive edge. This study reveals a darker picture: stimulant use for studying is associated with a decline driven by substance use problems. Rather than being a study aid, it may be a marker of students in academic trouble.
The numbers in context
984 students, 4 annual waves. 38% used prescription stimulants for studying by year 4. Cannabis use disorder predicted increased class-skipping, which predicted declining GPA. The trajectory from substance problems to academic decline to stimulant use was confirmed for both cannabis and alcohol.
How the study worked
Longitudinal prospective study of 984 students in the College Life Study at a large public US university. Four annual data waves. Measured DSM-IV cannabis and alcohol use disorders, class attendance, GPA (from university records), and nonmedical prescription stimulant use. Growth curve modeling estimated trajectory associations.
What this study cannot tell us
Single university; findings may differ at other institutions. Self-reported stimulant use and class attendance are subject to bias. The study cannot prove the causal direction between cannabis use and academic decline. Students who dropped out were lost to follow-up.
How to read the evidence
Longitudinal study with university GPA data and growth curve modeling; moderate evidence for the substance use-academic decline pathway.
When this study was published
Published in 2013. Nonmedical stimulant use among college students remains a significant concern.
The bigger picture
This study reframes nonmedical stimulant use from a performance-enhancement issue to a substance use disorder issue. Students using "study drugs" may benefit more from comprehensive substance use assessment than from academic tutoring.
Questions still open
- Would addressing cannabis and alcohol use problems reduce prescription stimulant misuse? Should universities screen for substance use disorders when students present with academic difficulty? Does the stimulant use actually help these students or just mask the underlying problem?
Common questions
Are prescription stimulants "smart drugs"?
How does cannabis use connect to stimulant use?
Read the original research
Dispelling the myth of "smart drugs": cannabis and alcohol use problems predict nonmedical use of prescription stimulants for studying.
Addictive behaviors, 38(3), 1643-50
Citation
Arria, Amelia M; Wilcox, Holly C; Caldeira, Kimberly M; Vincent, Kathryn B; Garnier-Dykstra, Laura M; O'Grady, Kevin E. (2013). Dispelling the myth of "smart drugs": cannabis and alcohol use problems predict nonmedical use of prescription stimulants for studying.. Addictive behaviors, 38(3), 1643-50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2012.10.002
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