Correlates Of Prescription Opioid Misuse Among Black Adults: Findings From The 2015 National Survey On Drug Use And Health

Keywords

African-American; Black; Prescription opioid misuse

Abstract

Background: Prescription drug misuse, especially opioid misuse, has become a public health crisis in the US. While much research attention has been focused on prescription drug misuse, a number of notable gaps in the literature remain. The current research addresses one of these gaps by examining racial/ethnic variation in prescription opioid misuse among adults. Methods: We use data from the 2015 NSDUH to identify correlates of prescription opioid misuse among Black respondents aged 18 and older. The NSDUH defines prescription drug misuse as the use of prescription drugs in any way a doctor did not direct respondents to use them, including (a) without a prescription of their own; (b) in greater amounts, more often, or longer than told to use; or (c) in any other way a doctor did not tell respondents to use the drug. Results: Findings indicate that Black respondents have a very similar prevalence rate of prescription opioid misuse compared to White respondents. A number of factors (i.e., gender, socioeconomic status, educational attainment) were significantly correlated with prescription opioid misuse only among Black respondents. In addition, many factors (i.e., depression, general health, other illicit drug use, being approached by a drug dealer) were significantly associated with prescription opioid misuse among both Black and White respondents. Conclusions: The current research identified a number of unique correlates of prescription opioid misuse among Black adults. To more effectively deal with the current public health crisis, research must identify risk factors among various groups within the population.

Publication Date

5-1-2018

Publication Title

Drug and Alcohol Dependence

Volume

186

Number of Pages

264-267

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.12.006

Socpus ID

85044510673 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85044510673

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