Middle-Class Motives for Non-Medical Prescription Stimulant Use among College Students

Among policymakers and media in the United States, there is growing concern over increasing rates of illicit prescription drug use among college students. Using semi-structured interviews with 22 college students who misused prescription stimulants, we find that they draw on conventional middle-clas...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inDeviant behavior Vol. 36; no. 7; pp. 589 - 603
Main Authors Kerley, Kent R., Copes, Heith, Griffin, O. Hayden
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 03.07.2015
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Citizens
College students
Colleges & universities
Drug abuse
Drug use
Identity
Medicine
Middle class
Motivation
Policy making
Prescription drugs
Stimulants
United States > US
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Among policymakers and media in the United States, there is growing concern over increasing rates of illicit prescription drug use among college students. Using semi-structured interviews with 22 college students who misused prescription stimulants, we find that they draw on conventional middle-class beliefs (e.g., success and moderation) to make sense of their drug use. They do this by creating identities as people who are focused on success and use stimulants only as a tool to perform their best. They use excuses and justifications rooted in middle-class values to create symbolic boundaries between themselves (as legitimate users) and others (as hedonistic users). This allows them to persist with their illegal behaviors while maintaining an identity as conventional citizens.
ISSN:0163-9625
1521-0456
DOI:10.1080/01639625.2014.951573