Do Auditory Figure-Ground Difficulties Contribute to Illicit Use of Stimulant Medication? Público

Wisotsky, Rachel Melissa (2012)

Permanent URL: https://etd.library.emory.edu/concern/etds/8c97kr23q?locale=es
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Abstract

Abstract
Do Auditory Figure-Ground Difficulties Contribute to Illicit Use of Stimulant Medication?
Illicit use of stimulant medication as a study drug has increased on college campuses, with
prevalence rates ranging from 4.1% (McCabe et al., 2005) to 34% (DeSantis et al., 2008).
Students have anecdotally reported using the medication to filter out background noise when
studying (DeSantis et al., 2008). Audiology research has suggested that stimulant medication
may improve auditory processing performance in children with ADD/ADHD diagnoses (Tillery
et al., 2000). The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether auditory figure-ground
difficulties contribute to illicit stimulant use. The study also examined whether illicit stimulant
users and non-users differed in sensation seeking and other substance use. The sample consisted
of 52 college students without ADHD diagnoses, 24 who reported high difficulty filtering out
background noise and 28 who reported low difficulty filtering out background noise. The
researchers administered two screening tests of the SCAN:3-A, a memory recall task, and a
survey containing items about sensation seeking, substance use, illicit stimulant use, motivations
for stimulant use, and perceived effects of stimulants. A chi-squared test of independence found
a statistical trend of greater stimulant medication use in the high auditory figure-ground
difficulty group. However, when overall drug use was controlled for, the trend disappeared. An
independent samples t-test found that stimulant users scored significantly higher on the
disinhibition sub-scale of the Brief Sensation Seeking Scale (BSSS). A Mann-Whitney U-test
found that stimulant users also used significantly more alcohol, illicit drugs, and prescription
drugs than non-users.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 1
Public Health Concerns and Abuse Potential of ADHD Medication 2
lllicit Use of Stimulant Medication on College Campuses 3

Rates of illicit use 4

Demographic and risk factors 5

Motivational Factors and Attitudes

Perceived Effects 6

Substance Use

Sensation seeking

Self-reported auditory-figure ground difficulties 7


Effect of Stimulant Medication on Auditory Processing in Children with ADHD 8


The Present Research Question and Hypotheses 11

METHOD 13

Participants

Procedure 14

Measures 15

Phase 1 16

Recruitment survey

Phase 2

SCAN-3:A screening tests 17

AFG 0 d B 18

CW-FR

Memory recall task 19

Survey overview


Demographics 20

BSSS

Alcohol use

Drug use

Tobacco use

Caffeine use

Illicit use of prescription medications


Illicit use of stimulant medication, motivation for use, and perceived
effects

RESULTS

Motivations and Perceived Helpfulness of Stimulant Medication 22

Tests of Hypotheses 23

Hypothesis one

Hypothesis two 24

Hypothesis three

Hypothesis four 25

Hypothesis five

DISCUSSION 26

Limitations 30

Future Research 31

Implications for Intervention 32

Conclusion 33

REFERENCES 35

TABLES

Table 1 39

Table 2 40

Table 3 41

Table 4 42

Table 5 43

Table 6A 44

Table 6B

Table 7 45

Table 8 46

APPENDIX A 47

APPENDIX B 48

APPENDIX C 49

APPENDIX D 50

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