Determinants of prescription opioid misuse among Black Americans: Evidence from the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

BACKGROUND: Opioid misuse, including prescription opioid misuse, remains a significant public health concern impacting various ethnoracial groups in the United States, including non-Hispanic Black Americans. This study provides more recent evidence on prescription opioid misuse among Black Americans. METHODS: We used data from the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health to examine the prevalence and determinants of prescription opioid misuse among Black American adults aged 18 and older. We compared these findings to non-Hispanic White American adults. RESULTS: The prevalence rate of past-year prescription opioid misuse was very similar among Black (3.4%) and White respondents (3.8%). Adjusted multivariate logistic regression analyses found no significant racial differences in prescription opioid misuse. Religious importance and rurality were negatively associated with misuse only among Black respondents. Depressive episodes, other drug use, age, and risk-taking behaviors were associated with prescription opioid misuse among both Black and White respondents. CONCLUSION: Black and White Americans remain at risk for prescription opioid-related problems. Religiosity and rurality require further investigation to understand how they may impact misuse among Black Americans.

Exposure to Parental Violence and Self-Reported Sexual Violence among Unpartnered Adolescent Girls in Nigeria: Evidence from a National Survey.

Objectives: Despite the high prevalence of sexual violence among young and adolescent women in Nigeria, there is a paucity of studies on the extent of sexual violence among adolescent girls, especially unpartnered girls, and the role of parental violence. This study assesses the prevalence of self-reported sexual violence and the influence of exposure to parental violence among unpartnered adolescent girls (aged 15-19) in Nigeria. Methods: The women's data (n = 5,145) from the 2013 and 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys were pooled and analyzed with descriptive analysis and multinomial logistic regressions. Results: Of all adolescent girls, 5.65% had ever experienced sexual violence, 94.09% said they never did, and 0.26% did not respond. Adolescent Girls exposed to parental violence were more likely to have ever experienced sexual violence than the unexposed girls (aRRR= 1.90; 95% CI: 1.29-2.79). Conclusion: Interventions to prevent sexual violence among adolescent girls should sensitize parents on the potential negative implications of parental violence for their daughters' wellbeing.

Examining the Relationship between Discrimination and Prescription Drug Misuse: Findings from a National Survey of Black Americans.

Background: Research shows that substance use may be a way individuals cope with psychosocial stressors. Less is known about whether discrimination contributes to prescription drug misuse. Methods: Using a national sample of Black Americans, we examined whether two psychosocial stressors (i.e., everyday and lifetime major discrimination) were associated with lifetime prescription drug misuse (i.e., opioids, tranquilizers, sedatives, or stimulants). Results: Our logistic regression models separately examining the influence of everyday and major discrimination controlling for relevant demographic, health, and other drug use variables showed that only everyday discrimination was associated with higher odds of prescription drug misuse. In the model simultaneously considering both types of discrimination, only unit increases in everyday discrimination were associated with higher odds of prescription drug misuse. Conclusions: Encounters with everyday discrimination may be an important psychosocial stressor linked to prescription drug misuse in Black adults and possibly other racial-ethnic minorities. Intervention strategies aiming to reduce prescription drug misuse should consider developing ways to curb the negative health-related consequences of discriminatory experiences. Strategies to combat discrimination-related prescription drug misuse and limitations of this study are discussed.