| Summary: | <p>Research relating to illicit use of prescription stimulants (IUPS) has, for the most part, focused on describing behaviors of IUPS. However, there have been few attempts to measure IUPS in a consistent manner or determine how to best predict IUPS in an effective and concise manner. Data from Mississippi State University undergraduates (<i>N</i> = 703) were analyzed to create two short-form measures to predict lifetime IUPS. The data-driven short-form consisted of 15 items and 5 factors, and accurately classified 74.8% of participants as users versus non-users. The hand-picked short-form consisted of 8 items and 5 factors, and accurately classified 84.6% of participants as users versus non-users. Results of this study can begin to provide information and possible tactics for briefly and quickly measuring risk for IUPS, particularly in applied settings, like university health centers or academic admissions. Future directions for research include testing these created short-form measures with longitudinal data collection, validating the measures on different populations, and determining if these measures can accurately predict specific behaviors related to IUPS (e.g., diversion, IUPS within certain time frames).</p>
|
|---|
