Prescription Opioid Use Among Young Parents in the United States: Results from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health

Abstract

Objectives: No estimates exist regarding the extent of prescription opioid use among US adults who are the primary caregivers to children.

Methods: Data were from Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Respondents were age 24 to 32 years. We compared the prevalence of prescription opioid use in the last four weeks and medical conditions with the potential to precipitate use among parents (i.e., one or more children living in the household) and nonparents. We then examined demographics and substance use behaviors among parents with and without recent prescription opioid use.

Results: A significantly higher percentage of parents (6.7%) compared with nonparents (3.9%) had taken a prescription opioid in the last four weeks, but a significantly lower percentage of parents compared with nonparents reported medical conditions with the potential to precipitate use such as an injury in the last four weeks (2.8% vs 4.0%). A higher percentage of parents with recent prescription opioid use reported financial hardship (44.1% vs 28.2%) and met criteria for risky substance use behaviors such as prescription opioid misuse (26.3% vs 11.8%) compared with parents without recent prescription opioid use.

Conclusions: Results suggest notable prescription opioid use among young parents in the United States and that parents with recent prescription opioid use are more likely to have a history of inappropriate use of substances. These results highlight the need for additional research regarding the effects of prescription opioid use on parenting behaviors.

Keywords: Opioids; Prescriptions.