U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

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
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)

Grant Number(s)
1R21DA025907-01A2
Sponsoring Agency
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Address

National Institutes of Health, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 5213, Bethesda, MD 20892-9561, United States

Publication Format
Article
Publication Type
Research (Applied/Empirical)
Language
English
Country
United States of America