Prescription Drug Misuse among African Americans and Afro Caribbeans: Results from the National Survey of American Life

Abstract

Background

The misuse of prescription medications is an understudied topic among the non-Hispanic Black population in the U.S. Even less is known about the prevalence and correlates of misuse among African Americans and Afro-Caribbeans, despite documented differences in their substance use behaviors.

Objectives

We aimed to examine the prevalence and correlates of lifetime prescription drug misuse among African Americans and Afro Caribbeans using data from the National Survey of American Life.

Methods

A national household probability sample of non-institutionalized African Americans and Afro Caribbeans from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys was used. Pooled and ethnicity-stratified logistic regressions were estimated.

Results

Findings showed no significant differences between African Americans (6.36%) and Afro-Caribbeans (5.71%) in lifetime prescription drug misuse. Several correlates were found to be associated with misuse among only African American or Afro-Caribbean respondents.

Conclusions

While research has shown prescription drug misuse is an issue among Blacks overall, our results show that the role of ethnicity must not be overlooked, especially when tailoring prevention and intervention programs. Limitations of this study are discussed.

Keywords:

• Prescription drug misuse
• race/ethnicity
• African American
• Caribbean

Notes

1 In general, PDM refers to the misuse of a prescription drug (i.e. sedatives, opioids, tranquilizers, stimulants) not

prescribed to you or in ways not authorized by a physician (CBHSQ, 2018).