About the Risks of ‘Handling it Later’: The Mediating Effect of Stress on the Relationship between Procrastination and CE-Drug Use among University Students

With increasing pressure, expectations and competition, the use of cognitive enhancement drugs (CE-drugs) among University students has become more frequent during the last years. CE-drugs include substances such as illicit drugs, prescription medication or over-the-counter drugs, taken with the intention to enhance cognitive capacities such as attention, memory or alertness. Risks such as side-effects and addiction underline the need to examine factors involving CE-drug use to create targeted interventions. The present study investigates the hypothesized mediating effect of perceived stress on the positive relationship between academic procrastination and CE-drug use.