Non-Medical Use of Prescription Drugs Among Youth in an Appalachian Population: Prevalence, Predictors, and Implications for Prevention

• NCJ Number: 236855
• Journal: Journal of Drug Education Volume: 41 Issue: 3 Dated: 2011 Pages: 309-326
• Author(s): David Collins, Ph.D.; Melissa Harris Abadi, Ph.D.; Knowlton Johnson, Ph.D.; Steve Shamblen, Ph.D.; Kirsten Thompson, M.A.
• Date Published: 2011
• Length: 18 pages
• Grant Number(s): 1R21DA025907-01A2
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the prevalence of prescription drug abuse among Appalachian elementary and high school students.

Abstract

This article examines prevalence of non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) in a sample of elementary and high school students in an Appalachian Tennessee county. The authors found that lifetime prevalence of NMUPD (35 percent) was higher than prevalence of cigarette use (28 percent) and marijuana use (17 percent), but lower than lifetime prevalence of alcohol use (46 percent). The authors examined characteristics, as well as risk and protective factors in several domains, as predictors of NMUPD. For comparison, the authors also examined these characteristics and factors as predictors of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use. Using survey data from a sample of late elementary school and high school students (grades 5, 7, 9, and 11), logistic regression analyses showed that the risk factors of friends' non-medical use and perceived availability, and the protective factors of perceived risk, parents' disapproval, school commitment, and community norms against youth NMUPD were significant predictors of lifetime prevalence of NMUPD. Implications for prevention are discussed. (Published Abstract)