Misuse of Methylphenidate and Attitudes About Methylphenidate Among Resident Physicians

Abstract

Objective: Misuse of methylphenidate (MPH) has been found to be highly prevalent in young individuals. MPH misuse is more frequent among college students. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the frequency of misuse of MPH and knowledge level about this agent among resident physicians. Method: A group of 212 resident physicians working in Gaziantep University Medical Faculty Hospital were enrolled in our study. Of this group, 176 (83%) agreed to participate. Participants were asked to complete a twelve item questionnaire and a sociodemographic data sheet designed by the department of psychiatry. Results: Of the participants, 124 (70.5%) were male and 52 (29.5%) were female. Mean age was 29.25±3.04 (range: 24-44) years. Of the participants, 100 were resident physicians in internal medicine, whereas 57 were in surgical specialties and 19 in basic sciences. It was found that 39 participants (22.2%) had previously used MPH without a medical indication. Of the participants who reported misuse of MPH, 19 participants indicated that they started using MPH by recommendation of their colleagues, whereas 20 participants indicated that they started using MPH by their own decision. Twenty eight participants (15.9%) stated that they used MPH during the preparation period for the Medical Specialty Entrance Exam, while 11 participants (6.25%) stated that they used MPH in a period unrelated to the Medical Specialty Entrance Exam. No significant difference was detected between male (n = 30; 24.2%) and female participants (n = 9; 17.3%) regarding the frequency of misuse of MPH. Conclusion: This study shows that the frequency of misuse of MPH is high among resident physicians. Multi-centered studies are needed to generalize this conclusion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved). (journal abstract)