How should universities respond?
- Enquire about efficacy
“If you’re seeing students using this ask them ‘are you finding it useful?’ and if they say yes: get an assessment. Either go online and do the formal ADHD test or go and talk to a doctor about it,” says Dr. Thompson. “If they’re not so much finding it useful, but they feel it’s necessary to take it, talk about what’s happening for them in terms of the stress and pressure that they are under, because it is a symptom of something.”
- Bust the myths
“If you explain to them the background, that is unless they have ADHD, Parkinson’s, hypothyroid, unless they have the medical condition, they’re actually not getting the benefit you think they’re getting. You might as well just have a cup of coffee, stay up a bit later and do the work anyway. So maybe they need to understand that first, because the marketing online is phenomenal that these will transform you, you will become like Bradley Cooper in Limitless,” says Dr. Thompson.
- Address the root cause
“A recent pilot study in Germany assessed how the inquiry of positive appraisals influenced students’ test anxiety and procrastination – two factors that can impair academic performance – and found that such appraisals were leading to an increase in self-efficacy. That’s what it is all about,” says Dr. Maier.
- Empower students
“As long as substance use for cognitive enhancement a) happens infrequently and/or limited to exam periods, b) in amounts that don’t pose an acute risk to health, and c) without negatively impacting the students’ self-efficacy, the university doesn’t need to interfere. However, the university wants to have measures readily available if students’ self-efficacy decreases and pathological patterns may develop (e.g., when students believe that they can only succeed with additional substances and not any longer on their own). Empowering students and creating a safe, non-judgmental learning environment for them to thrive is likely the best approach to prevent substance use for cognitive enhancement,” says Dr. Maier.
In conclusion…
The available data indicates that the use of smart drugs in the UK is on the rise. While it’s unclear to what extent they perform as intended, there are several notable side effects and risks involved in taking them. Most critically of all, it’s unclear what impact they might have on a student’s health in the long-term. And while taking smart drugs is legal, selling them is illegal, a fact which students who are supplying their peers might not be aware of.
With that in mind, there are several strategies universities can employ to tackle the issue of smart drug usage among the UK student population. First off, it’s important to enquire about the perceived efficacy of smart drugs, because if students are finding them genuinely helpful they may benefit from an ADHD test. It’s also worth explaining to students that the benefits are pretty unclear and certainly not as remarkable as the online marketing behind the drugs indicates.
Perhaps most importantly of all, however, universities should spend some time investigating why their students are feeling compelled to take smart drugs in the first place. From here, cultural changes can be implemented which can help eradicate the desire to take smart drugs.
Dr. Maier says it best: “Instead of prohibiting or regulating substance use for cognitive enhancement which is difficult to implement anyway, universities should invest in creating a friendly/welcoming study environment and weigh collaboration among students higher than competition for good grades.”
