Examining the Relationship between Religious Coping and the Misuse of Prescription Stimulants among a Sample of Undergraduate Students

Background: There is a well-established inverse relationship in undergraduate samples between a person's religious coping and substance abuse. Positive religious coping (PRC) has been associated with decreases in the use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana. Investigations examining prescription drug misuse and PRC found that higher levels of PRC were related to a reduction in the misuse of some prescription drugs. However, the literature has yet to identify an inverse relationship between PRC and the misuse of prescription stimulants (MPS) among undergraduates. Objective: Examine the association between religious coping and past-year MPS in a sample of undergraduate students. Methods: Undergraduates were recruited to complete an anonymous online survey from three universities (1 private, 2 public) in the United States. Results: The sample consisted of 908 undergraduates between the ages of 18 and 25. Statistical analyses revealed that higher levels of PRC were associated with a reduction in past-year MPS. A separate model found that attending religious events also decreased the behavior. Conversely older students, males, Greek organization affiliation, a lower GPA and having a current stimulant prescription all increased the odds of reporting past-year MPS. Negative religious coping and a student's race were not significantly associated with MPS. Conclusions: Findings indicate that PRC skills have the potential to reduce MPS in college students. Therefore, it is possible that the development of similar secular skills could have the same effect. Future studies should explore the role that positive coping skills having on the reduction of MPS among undergraduates regardless of religious conviction.