ArticleJournal of addiction medicine
Sedative/Tranquilizer Misuse is Associated With Alcohol and Illicit Drug Problems, Mental Health Issues, and Impulsivity and Compulsivity in University Students.
Article in Journal of addiction medicine. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Antecedent sedative use is independently associated with stroke occurrence among west Africans: Evidence from the SIREN case-control study.eNeurologicalSci · 2025Article
- Changing patterns of hospitalization for sedative misuse among youth aged 10-24 years in Quebec, Canada.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2024Article
- Article
- Use of psychoactive substances among university students from 2019 to 2020: A systematic review.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2024Article
- Severity of behavioral addiction symptoms among young adults using non-prescribed sedatives/hypnotics.Addictive behaviors reports · 2023Article
- Use of sedative pharmacological agents among biomedical students during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: a cross-sectional pilot study.Croatian medical journal · 2022Article
- Prevalence and drug use correlates of extra-medical use of prescription medications for sleep among adults in the United States: Results of the 2015-2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThis study examined the prevalence of sedative/tranquilizer misuse among university students and its associations with psychosocial correlates.
methodsNine thousand four hundred forty-nine students received a 156-item anonymous online survey, which assessed the use of prescription sedative/tranquilizer (ever or past year), alcohol and drug use, mental health issues, and impulsive and compulsive traits. Sedative/tranquilizer misuse was defined as intake of these prescription drugs by individuals who had not been prescribed them.
resultsThree thousand five hundred twenty-five university students (57.7% women) responded to the survey. The prevalence of past 12-month prescription sedative/tranquilizer misuse was 2.1%, with 2.8% reporting having used more than 12 months ago. Prescription sedative/tranquilizer misuse was associated with the use of multiple other drugs (eg, alcohol, opiates each P < 0.001). Those who misuse sedative/tranquilizers were significantly more likely to have mental health histories (P < 0.001), engage in riskier sexual behavior (ie, earlier sexual acts [P < 0.001] and less frequent use of barrier contraception [P = 0.001]), report low self-esteem (P = 0.001), and endorse traits of impulsivity (P < 0.001) and compulsivity (P < 0.001). Effect sizes were small to medium.
conclusionsMisuse of prescription sedative/tranquilizers was reported by 2% to 3% of university students and was associated with a variety of mental health and drug use problems. Clinicians should be aware that certain mental health conditions are more likely in those who misuse sedatives. This study indicates the need for longitudinal research into the effects of chronic sedative use on brain function and mental health, especially in young people. Such research should address the extent to which impulsive traits predispose to various substance use problems, versus the direct effects of sedatives (and other substances) on mental health.
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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.