Academic beliefs and prescription stimulant misuse among college students: Investigating academic locus of control, grade orientation, and academic entitlement

Abstract

Objective This study examined the relationship of students’ academic beliefs to the theoretical predictors of prescription stimulant misuse outlined in the Theory of Planned Behavior. Participants Participants included 147 college students (Mage = 19.65) from a mid-sized university in the Southwestern United States. Method An online questionnaire distributed in the 10th week of the semester assessed students’ academic locus of control, grade orientation, and academic entitlement in relation to their attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, behavioral intention, and actual misuse behavior. Results Partial correlations controlling for age, gender, and Greek life involvement indicated that academic locus of control is significantly related to all TPB variables aside from actual behavior, while grade orientation was related to perceived behavioral control and behavioral intention. Academic entitlement was not related to TPB variables in this study. Conclusions The associations between academic beliefs and prescription stimulant misuse hold theoretical and practical implications.