Misuse of Prescription Opioids and Suicidal Behaviors Among Black Adolescents: Findings from the 2017 and 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey

• Published in: Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities 2023-08, Vol.10 (4), p.1856-1868
• Main Authors: Baiden, Philip, Eugene, Danielle R., Nicholas, Julia K., Spoor, Samantha, Brown, Fawn A., LaBrenz, Catherine A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Adolescent; Adolescents; Analgesics, Opioid - therapeutic use; Anxiety; Behavior; Black people; Bullying; Cross-Sectional Studies; Cyberbullying; Drug abuse; Drug overdose; Drug use; Epidemiology; Exercise; Female; Females; Health disparities; Health status; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental depression; Mental health; Narcotics; Opioid-Related Disorders - psychology; Opioids; Physical activity; Polls & surveys; Prescription Drug Misuse - psychology; Prescription drugs; Prescriptions; Public health; Quality of Life Research; Regression analysis; Regression models; Risk behavior; Risk Factors; Risk taking; Secondary school students; Sexual behavior; Social Inequality; Social Structure; Suicidal behavior; Suicidal Ideation; Suicide; Suicides & suicide attempts; Surveys; Teenagers; Victimization; Violence
• ISSN: 2197-3792; 2196-8837
• DOI: 10.1007/s40615-022-01369-5

Purpose Although some studies have examined the association between prescription opioid misuse and mental health outcomes, few have investigated the effects of prescription opioid misuse on suicidal behaviors among Black adolescents. The objective of this study was to investigate the cross-sectional association between prescription opioid misuse and suicidal ideation, suicide plan, and suicide attempt among Black adolescents. Methods Data for this study came from the 2017 and 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. An analytic sample of 4798 Black adolescents aged 14–18 years (51.2% female) was analyzed using binary logistic regression. The outcome variables investigated were suicidal ideation, suicide plan, and suicide attempt, and the main explanatory variable was prescription opioid misuse. Results Of the 4798 Black adolescents, 15% reported ever misusing prescription opioids; 16.2% experienced suicidal ideation; 14% made a suicide plan; and 11.3% attempted suicide during the past 12 months. In the multivariate logistic regression models, Black adolescents who misused prescription opioids had 1.39 times higher odds of making a suicide plan and 1.65 times higher odds of making a suicide attempt during the past 12 months when compared to their counterparts who did not misuse prescription opioids. Other significant factors associated with suicidal behaviors include female sex, school bullying, cyberbullying, depressive symptoms, and illicit drug use. In addition, physical activity had a protective effect on suicide attempt. Conclusion The findings of the present study demonstrate the effects of prescription opioid misuse and its association with suicidal behaviors among Black adolescents.