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Introduction: There is an established link between non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) and heroin use among adults; however, little is known about this relationship among adolescents. We investigate this association among a nationally-representative sample of U.S. high school students. Methods: Using data from the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (n = 13,462), we ran logistic regression models with multiple imputation to examine the association between NMUPD and heroin use, while controlling for other risk behaviors and mental health problems. Results: In the final adjusted model, compared to high school students reporting never misusing prescription drugs, those reporting NMUPD 1-9 times in their lives had a 1.90 times greater odds of heroin use and those reporting ≥10 times had a 5.59 times greater odds. Additionally, the following variables were significantly associated with heroin use: being male, carrying a weapon in the past 30 days, history of sexual intercourse, dating violence victimization, and reporting other drug use. Conclusion: NMUPD was associated with increased odds of heroin use among high school students. Future studies should investigate what other factors increase the risk of heroin use longitudinally, which is crucial to understanding how to best intervene among this population to prevent NMUPD and heroin use.
RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: Children who frequently eat family meals are less likely to develop risk- and behavior-related outcomes, such as substance misuse, sexual risk, and obesity. Few studies have examined sociodemographic characteristics associated with both meal frequency (i.e., number of meals) and duration (i.e., number of minutes spent at mealtimes). METHODS: We examine the association between sociodemographics and family meal frequency and duration among a sample of 85 parents in a large New England city that was recruited through the public-school system. Additionally, we examined differences in family meals by race/ethnicity and parental nativity. Unadjusted ANOVA and adjusted ANCOVA models were used to assess the associations between sociodemographic characteristics and frequency and duration of meals. RESULTS: Sociodemographic characteristics were not significantly associated with the frequency of family meals; however, in the adjusted models, differences were associated with duration of meals. Parents who were born outside the U.S. spent an average of 135.0 min eating meals per day with their children compared to 76.2 for parents who were born in the U.S. (p < 0.01). Additionally, parents who reported being single, divorced, or separated on average, spent significantly more time per day eating family meals (126.7 min) compared to parents who reported being married or partnered (84.4; p = 0.02). Differences existed in meal duration by parental nativity and race/ethnicity, ranging from 63.7 min among multi-racial/other parents born in the U.S. to 182.8 min among black parents born outside the U.S. DISCUSSION: This study builds a foundation for focused research into the mechanisms of family meals. Future longitudinal epidemiologic research on family meals may help to delineate targets for prevention of maladaptive behaviors, which could affect family-based practices, interventions, and policies.
