College - Author 1

College of Science and Mathematics

Department - Author 1

Kinesiology Department

Degree Name - Author 1

BS in Kinesiology

Date

6-2016

Primary Advisor

Kristine Jankovitz

Abstract/Summary

The recreational use of prescription drugs has been increasingly common in university communities (Office of National Drug Control Policy, 2015). Students may abuse prescription drugs to get high, study longer or sleep. A survey conducted by Kinesiology students used snowball sampling to assess the number of Cal Poly students recreationally using prescription drugs and their knowledge of prescription drug abuse (Colangelo & Sepulveda, 2015). The assessment showed 30.7% of students had abused prescription drugs in the last six months. There was an increase in abuse between college freshmen (19.2%), college sophomores (41.4%) and juniors (44.3%) (Colangelo & Sepulveda, 2015). This prevalence indicates an intervention may be useful. A non-equivalent control group design was used to assess the effectiveness of a prescription drug abuse prevention curriculum for college students. Students enrolled in general education health courses during the Fall of 2015 participated in the study. The treatment group (n=88) received a classroom-based intervention designed to include information specific to prescription drug abuse. The control group (n=64) received the traditional intervention covering general information about drug abuse. The purpose of the study was to determine which intervention was most effective in influencing knowledge, perceptions of risk, and self-efficacy to prevent prescription drug abuse. Both groups were administered a pre-test and a post-test questionnaire online. The ANCOVA showed a significant positive association of the treatment intervention for: Knowledge of Prescription Drug Abuse and Misuse (Knowledge) (p=0.001) and Self-Efficacy for Preventing Prescription Drug Abuse and Misuse (Self-Efficacy) (p

Share

COinS