ArticlePloS one2014
Robust resilience and substantial interest: a survey of pharmacological cognitive enhancement among university students in the UK and Ireland.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Prevalence and associated factors of self-medication in worldwide pregnant women: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- The use of Image and Performance-Enhancing Drugs (IPED) in behavioural addictions.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2026Review
- Key modifiable risk factors for self-medication among university students: An observational study.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2024Article
- Prevalence of the use of prescription stimulants as "study drugs" by UK university students: A brief report.Brain and behavior · 2024Review
- The rising use of cognitive enhancement drugs and predictors of use during COVID-19: findings from a cross-sectional survey of students and university staff in the UK.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- The Role of Different Behavioral and Psychosocial Factors in the Context of Pharmaceutical Cognitive Enhancers' Misuse.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Review
- Use and misuse of prescription stimulants by university students: a cross-sectional survey in the french-speaking community of Belgium, 2018.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2022Article
- Article
- The relevance of pharmacological neuroenhancement for stress and resilience-A multistudy report.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- Use, Perceptions and Attitudes of Cognitive and Sports Performance Enhancing Substances Among University Students.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2022Article
- Neuroenhancement: State of the Art and Future Perspectives.Clinical neuropsychiatry · 2021Article
- The Use and Impact of Cognitive Enhancers among University Students: A Systematic Review.Brain sciences · 2021Review
- Psychiatric Comorbidity and Stress in Medical Students Using Neuroenhancers.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
- Understanding the relationship between safety beliefs and knowledge for cognitive enhancers in UK university students.PloS one · 2021Article
- Effects of Appearance- and Performance-Enhancing Drugs on Personality Traits.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Review
- Pharmacological Neuroenhancement: Current Aspects of Categorization, Epidemiology, Pharmacology, Drug Development, Ethics, and Future Perspectives.Neural plasticity · 2021Review
- Medical Students' Attitudes Towards Pharmacological Cognitive Enhancement With Methylphenidate.Academic psychiatry : the journal of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training and the Association for Academic Psychiatry · 2020Article
- Hyponatraemia and cerebral oedema due to a modafinil overdose.BMJ case reports · 2020Article
- The off-prescription use of modafinil: An online survey of perceived risks and benefits.PloS one · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Use of 'smart drugs' among UK students is described in frequent media reports as a rapidly increasing phenomenon. This article reports findings from the first large-scale survey of pharmacological cognitive enhancement (PCE) among students in the UK and Ireland. Conducted from February to September 2012, a survey of a convenience sample of 877 students measured PCE prevalence, attitudes, sources, purposes and ethics. Descriptive and logistic regression statistical methods were used to analyse the data. Lifetime prevalence of PCE using modafinil, methylphenidate or Adderall was under 10%, while past regular and current PCE users of these substances made up between 0.3%-4% of the survey population. A substantial majority of students was unaware of and/or uninterested in PCE; however about one third of students were interested in PCE. PCE users were more likely to be male, British and older students; predictors of PCE use included awareness of other students using PCEs, ADHD symptomatology, ethical concerns, and alcohol and cannabis use. The survey addresses the need for better evidence about PCE prevalence and practices among university students in the UK. We recommend PCE-related strategies for universities based on the survey findings.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.