Examining the association between prescription opioid misuse and suicidal behaviors among adolescent high school students in the United States
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Date
2019Author
Baiden, Philip
Graaf, Genevieve
Zaami, Mariama
Acolatse, Charles
Adeku, Yvonne
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**Please note that the full text is embargoed** ABSTRACT: Although some studies have examined the association between prescription opioid misuse and mental health
outcomes, few studies have examined the effects of prescription opioid misuse on suicidal behaviors among adolescents.
The objective of this study was to examine the association between prescription opioid misuse and suicidal
ideation, suicide plan, and suicide attempt among adolescents. Data for this study came from the 2017
Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. A sample of 8830 adolescents aged 14–18 years (50.9% female) were
analyzed using logistic regression with suicidal ideation, suicide plan, and suicide attempt as outcome variables
and prescription opioid misuse as the main explanatory variable. Of the 8830 adolescents, 13.3% ever misused
prescription opioids; 17.7% experienced suicidal ideation, 13.3% made a suicide plan, and 6.5% attempted suicide
during the past 12 months. In the multivariate logistic regression models, adolescent students who misused
prescription opioids were 1.50 times more likely to have experienced suicidal ideation, 1.44 times more likely to
have made a suicide plan, and 1.58 times more likely to have attempted suicide during the past 12 months when
compared to their counterparts who did not misuse prescription opioids. Other significant predictors of suicidal
behaviors include sexual minority, history of sexual assault, traditional bullying and cyberbullying victimization,
feeling sad or hopeless, cigarette smoking, and illicit drug use. The findings of the present study demonstrate the
harmful effects of prescription opioid misuse and its association with suicidal behaviors among adolescents.