A total of 289 students signed the informed consent to participate, and completed the survey. 273 surveys were completed correctly. 3 persons were excluded from participating in the study due to their medical condition, as they had been prescribed PCE by psychiatrists. 270 students met all the criteria for inclusion in the study. The mean age of these was 21 (+/− 2.28) years.
4.8% (13) of the respondents confirmed that they had already used a prescription medicine that had not been prescribed for any disorder in order to improve their cognitive abilities. Mostly in order to improve focus, but the desire for creativity and alertness follows. The most commonly misused substances were, modafinil and armodafinil, which are among the most commonly used. (83%, 11). 31% (4) purchased PCE from another person or from a foreign website (23%; 3).
The information that 46% (6) did not plan to misuse PCE anymore is reassuring, but 38% (5) had not yet decided about this. There was also a low proportion of those who would recommend it to others – only 15% (2). 69% (9) were aware that PCE is most likely to harm them, and 58% (7) said they should not be freely accessible.
Respondents were sorted into four groups: Those who had never heard about PCE (Group A), heard about it (B), knew someone who had tried PCE (C), or those who had tried PCE themselves (D). Such distribution of participants gave us a broader insight into students` beliefs connected with PCE misuse. We decided to seperate students who knew PCE users from those with friends using PCE for non-medical purposes, considering the findings of Ford and Ong (2014) that college students with friends that use prescription stimulants non-medically are more likely to use PCE as well, since they believe it is acceptable or necessary to fit in with the social group. So, in the research, we connected different groups of students with their attitude to studies (grades, desire to prove themselves, study obligations, according to the characteristics of schooling), parents, in connection with health care and leisure activities and work. An analysis of 32 statements revealed differences in students and their parents` attitudes toward good grades and learning habits. There were no statistically significant differences in the analysis of other statements.
Grades had been identified to be associated positively with PCE misuse. The comparison of the groups showed the differences regarding the importance of good grades for their parents, and the importance of good grades to become what students want (Table 1).
Those who had heard of PCE felt that grades are more important to their parents.
When deciding for PCE misuse, parents' attitude to grades also seemed to be important. Students who had heard of PCE consider the grades to be very important for their parents (compared to those who did not know PCE). Compared to those who had already tried PCE, students who had heard of PCE were more in favor of the claim that only with good grades can they become what they want (Table 2).
Differences between groups were also reflected in the students` position on learning habits –learning during night time. Differences occurred between groups who were unfamiliar with PCE (who rarely learned at night), compared to students who had already tried PCE (Table 3).
Furthermore, students chose among 17 values relating to relationships with parents, friends, partners, careers, study obligations, leisure, hobbies, material goods, appearance and future, and assessed their importance. Regardless of the group they belonged to, young people cited the same values among the most important. Those who ranked love among the three most important factors placed it in the first place, regardless of the group to which they belonged. Those who had already tried PCE ranked love in a smaller proportion in the first place.
Students ranked their parents' praise first or second if this value was important to them. None of them were from the group that had already tried PCE. Parental praise was most important to those who had not heard of PCE, but this difference did not prove statistically significant for further analysis.
Academic grades for students who had already heard of PCE, who knew someone who was taking it, or had already tried it on their own, appeared mostly in the first place, while those who had not heard of PCE, in most cases, ranked it in second place in importance. Although the observed differences proved to be statistically insignificant, they complement our findings significantly.
Students who valued consideration of their parents mostly put this value in 2nd place if they haven’t heard of or known about PCE, in 3rd place if they knew someone who had already tried PCE, and in first place if they had tried them themselves. The observed differences between the groups did not prove to be statistically significant after further tests.
Students who care about not being bored ranked this value second in most groups (except for the group who knew someone taking PCE; in this group, the value was distributed evenly in 1st and 2nd places). Further analyses showed that the differences between the groups were not statistically significant.
Among students who valued hobbies and hobby activities highly, all groups ranked the latter in second place in most cases. Young people who ranked money among the three most important values, ranked the latter in most cases, regardless of the group to which they belonged. Few respondents ranked other material goods among the most important values; these, however, mostly covered second place. Sport, as an important factor, was ranked second in most cases.
No participant from the group who knew anyone taking PCE ranked appearance among the most important values. The number of young people for whom appearance was important was small; those unfamiliar with PCE mostly ranked it 2nd, those who had heard of PCE ranked it first, and those who had already tried PCE ranked it third. Differences between groups were not statistically significant.
Students who identified family relationships as an important factor in their lives, put them in second place in most cases, except in the group that had already tried PCE, and the problems took first place in the ranking. The chi-square test showed that there were no statistically significant differences between the groups.
The feeling of freedom and exits, in most cases, found themselves in 3rd place in terms of importance of factors. They were ranked higher by young people who did not know, or had only heard of PCE. The chi-square test showed that there were no statistically significant differences between the groups.
The possibility of employment was mostly ranked 3rd as an important factor in life (it appeared in 1st place only in the group that did not know PCE). The chi-square test showed that there were no statistically significant differences between the groups.
In the vast majority of cases, the future was ranked 3rd among young people who ranked it among the most important factors. It was ranked 1st only in the group that had already heard of PCE. The Chi-square test showed that there were no statistically significant differences between the groups.
We were also interested in the attitude towards illicit drugs. Those who had already tried PCE use marihuana often, and cocaine occasionally, while other drugs were present to a lesser extent (see also Vicario et al., 2020). The same students also consumed alcohol and smoked cigarettes more often.
In our research we followed the following research questions:
RQ1: What are the most important psychosocial factors among students PCE users? An analysis of 32 statements revealed differences in students` and parents` attitudes toward good grades and learning habits. There were no statistically significant differences in the analysis of other statements.
RQ2: What is the attitude among PCE users towards study, and what is the role of their parents? Academic grades had been identified to be associated positively with PCE misuse. The comparison of the groups showed the differences regarding the importance of good grades for their parents, and importance of good grades to become what students wanted. Those who had heard of PCE felt that grades were more important to their parents. When deciding for PCE misuse, parents' attitudes to grades also seemed to be important. Students who had heard of PCE considered the grades to be very important for their parents (compared to those who did not know PCE). Compared to those who had already tried PCE, students who had heard of PCE were more in favor of the claim that only with good grades can they become what they want. Differences between groups were also reflected in the students` position for learning habits –learning during the night time. Differences occurred between groups who were unfamiliar with PCE (who rarely learned at night), compared to students who had already tried PCE.
RQ3: Does the attitude towards psychosocial values differ from students who are users of PCE compared to other students? Students chose among 17 values relating to relationships with parents, friends, partners, careers, study obligations, leisure, hobbies, material goods, appearance and future, and assessed their importance. Regardless of the group they belonged to, young people cited the same values among the most important.