Psychosocial Correlates of Opioid Use Profiles among Young Adults in a Longitudinal Study across 6 US Metropolitan Areas

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Caroline Fuss, George Washington University; Katelyn F. Romm, University of Oklahoma; Natalie Crawford, Emory University; Kristin Harrington, Emory University; Yan Wang, George Washington University; Yan Ma, University of Pittsburgh; Tamara Taggart, George Washington University; Monica S. Ruiz, George Washington University; Carla J. Berg, George Washington University
• Language: English
• Date: 2023-04-20
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: Rights managed by Taylor & Francis
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2023.2201839
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: SUBSTANCE USE & MISUSE
• Volume: 58
• Issue: 8
• Start Page: 981
• End Page: 988
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported by the US National Cancer Institute (R01CA215155-01A1, PI: Berg). Dr. Romm is supported by Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) contract #R22-03, the National Cancer Institute grant awarded to the Stephenson Cancer Center (P30CA225520), and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R25DA054015, MPIs: Obasi, Reitzel). Dr. Berg is also supported by other US National Institutes of Health funding, including the National Cancer Institute (R01CA239178-01A1, MPIs: Berg, Levine; R21 CA261884-01A1, MPIs: Berg, Arem; R01 CA278229-01, MPIs: Berg, Kegler), the Fogarty International Center (R01TW010664-01, MPIs: Berg, Kegler; D43 TW012456-01, MPIs: Berg, Paichadze, Petrosyan), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences/Fogarty (D43ES030927-01, MPIs: Berg, Caudle, Sturua), and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA054751-01A1, MPIs: Berg, Cavazos-Rehg). Dr. Taggart is supported by awards from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA056264, MPIs: Taggart and Gottfredson) and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (UG3AI169655, MPIs: Taggart and Rendina). Dr. Ruiz is supported by a contract from the New Jersey Prevention Network for an evaluation of the Addiction Training and Workforce Development Program.
• Keywords: Opioid use; young adults; substance use; risk factors
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Mental Health; Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

Background: Examining opioid use profiles over time and related factors among young adults is crucial to informing prevention efforts. Objectives: This study analyzed baseline data (Fall 2018) and one-year follow-up data from a cohort of 2,975 US young adults (Mage=24.55, 42.1% male; 71.7% White; 11.4% Hispanic). Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine: 1) psychosocial correlates (i.e. adverse childhood experiences [ACEs], depressive symptoms, parental substance use) of lifetime opioid use (i.e. prescription use vs. nonuse, nonmedical prescription [NMPO] use, and heroin use, respectively); and 2) psychosocial correlates and baseline lifetime use in relation to past 6-month use at one-year follow-up (i.e. prescription use vs. nonuse and NMPO/heroin use, respectively). Results: At baseline, lifetime use prevalence was: 30.2% prescription, 9.7% NMPO, and 3.1% heroin; past 6-month use prevalence was: 7.6% prescription, 2.5% NMPO, and 0.9% heroin. Compared to prescription users, nonusers reported fewer ACEs and having parents more likely to use tobacco, but less likely alcohol; NMPO users did not differ; and heroin users reported more ACEs and having parents more likely to use cannabis but less likely alcohol. At one-year follow-up, past 6-month use prevalence was: 4.3% prescription, 1.3% NMPO, and 1.4% heroin; relative to prescription users, nonusers were less likely to report baseline lifetime opioid use and reported fewer ACEs, and NMPO/heroin users were less likely to report baseline prescription opioid use but more likely heroin use. Conclusions: Psychosocial factors differentially correlate with young adult opioid use profiles, and thus may inform targeted interventions addressing different use patterns and psychosocial risk factors.