Study drug use in Australian universities: CRADLE Seminar Series
10 July 2018
CRADLE Fellow Dr Matthew Dunn shared the findings from his study exploring ‘study drug’ use in Australian universities in the latest fascinating presentation in the 2018 CRADLE Seminar Series – and if you weren’t able to make the seminar on the day, a recording is now available!
Student misuse of substances for cognitive enhancement or study purposes is a growing international concern, but many existing studies focus on North American or European contexts. Matthew shared insights into policy and regulatory environments and institutional responses to ‘study drugs’ in Australian universities, and challenged attendees to consider big questions about responding to study drug use in university settings – for instance, is study drug use an academic issue, or is it a health concern? How can universities better manage the issue, and do universities environments contribute to the problem? And should universities police these behaviours and, if so, how?
Photo: Dr Joanna Tai
A key finding of the study was that only one participant reported direct exposure to student use of a study drug; however, as Matthew emphasised throughout his seminar, study drug use encompasses not only the misuse of prescription medications but also the misuse of common stimulants – such as caffeine – to facilitate study. Thus, Matthew suggests, participants may have witnessed or heard students discuss study drug use, but have normalised the behaviours as familiar experiences to both students and academics – whether an all-night study session before an exam, or staying up late to finish an essay or marking.
As for how participants viewed study drug use amongst students, it was largely perceived as a health issue rather than a threat to academic integrity. Participant responses suggested that the use of study drugs is perceived less harshly than behaviours such as contract cheating because it’s seen as ‘self-enhancement’ rather than outsourcing; that is, students still complete their own work. Overall, participants felt that study drug use is a grey area, and that universities’ role in policing the issue is unclear.
To learn more about these findings, and how institutional settings may help to prevent or facilitate study drug use, view the seminar below.
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