Predictors of Attitudes Toward Pharmacological Cognitive Enhancers in College Students

Abstract

The misuse of pharmacological cognitive enhancers (PCEs) in an academic context is a growing area of concern, particularly as rates of PCE use among emerging adults have increased over time. The aim of this study was to identify potential targets for future preventive interventions by examining several social-cognitive variables as risk factors for PCE use. Using a sample of 335 undergraduate college students, attitudes toward cheating, academic locus of control, and perfectionism were measured as potential predictors of attitudes toward PCE use and beliefs about fairness. Results were that attitudes toward cheating and socially prescribed perfectionism predicted attitudes toward PCE use. Attitudes toward cheating and other-oriented perfectionism predicted beliefs about fairness. These results highlight perfectionism as a target for preventive interventions and underscore the need for colleges and universities to consider PCE use in their policies surrounding academic honesty.