Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Mainz, Untere Zahlbacher Str. 8, 55131, Mainz, Germany.
German Resilience Center (DRZ) gGmbH, Untere Zahlbacher Str. 8, 55131, Mainz, Germany.
Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2018 Oct 22;13(1):37. doi: 10.1186/s13011-018-0174-1.
Pharmacological neuroenhancement (PNE) refers to the use of psychoactive substances without doctor's prescription to enhance cognitive performance or to improve mood. Although some studies have reported that drugs for PNE are also being used to cope with stressful life situations, nothing is known about the relationship of PNE and resilience, i.e. the ability to recover from stress. This study aimed at investigating the relationship of PNE and resilience in the first representative population sample.
A cross-sectional survey in a representative sample of 1128 adults (age ≥ 18 yrs.) living in Germany was conducted. The use of PNE and related attitudes, perceptions and behaviours were assessed by structured interviews and self-report questionnaires. Stepwise logistic regression with backward elimination was conducted to identify potential risk factors for PNE use.
Lifetime prevalence for the use of stimulating prescription drugs without medical indication was 4.3%, 10.2% for stimulating illicit drugs, 20.3% for mood modulating prescription drugs, and 23.4% for cannabis. Coping with stressful situations was more frequently reported as underlying motive for using stimulant or mood modulating prescription drugs than stimulating illicit drugs or cannabis. The individual perceived stress increased the risk of using stimulating prescription drugs (OR: 2.86; 95% Cl: 1.49-5.46) and the individual ability to recover from stress decreased the risk of using any substance for PNE and especially mood modulating prescription drugs (OR: .62; 95% Cl: .47-.81).
The non-medical use of prescription drugs for PNE appears to be more prevalent in subjects who are less resilient to stress. Tailored resilience interventions that improve the ability to adapt to and recover from stressors may prevent the use of prescription medication for PNE. Further research should disentangle the association between psychological resilience and PNE as well as examine the efficacy of resilience interventions in the prevention of PNE.
药理学神经增强（PNE）是指未经医生处方使用精神活性物质来增强认知表现或改善情绪。尽管一些研究报告称，用于 PNE 的药物也被用于应对压力大的生活情况，但目前尚不清楚 PNE 与韧性（即从压力中恢复的能力）之间的关系。本研究旨在调查第一个代表性人群样本中 PNE 与韧性之间的关系。
在德国进行了一项代表性的 1128 名成年人（年龄≥18 岁）的横断面调查。通过结构化访谈和自我报告问卷评估 PNE 的使用情况以及相关态度、看法和行为。采用向后消除的逐步逻辑回归来确定 PNE 使用的潜在危险因素。
一生中未经医疗指示使用刺激性处方药的比例为 4.3%，刺激性非法药物为 10.2%，情绪调节处方药为 20.3%，大麻为 23.4%。与使用兴奋剂或情绪调节处方药相比，应对压力情况更频繁地被报告为使用兴奋剂或情绪调节处方药的潜在动机。个体感知到的压力增加了使用刺激性处方药的风险（OR：2.86；95%Cl：1.49-5.46），个体从压力中恢复的能力降低了使用任何物质进行 PNE 的风险，尤其是情绪调节处方药（OR：0.62；95%Cl：0.47-0.81）。
对于 PNE 的非医疗使用处方药在对压力的韧性较低的人群中似乎更为普遍。量身定制的韧性干预措施可以提高适应和从压力源中恢复的能力，从而可能预防使用处方药物进行 PNE。进一步的研究应阐明心理韧性与 PNE 之间的关联，并检验韧性干预措施在预防 PNE 中的效果。
