“Here’s the ‘kicker’: School factors associated with opioid misuse among US African American Youth

Abstract

Recent evidence has suggested that African Americans are at higher risk for opioid misuse, compared to their relative counterparts. However, school factors have largely been ignored. Given that the school is an environment for the development of risky behavior sequalae, more research is warranted on the relationship between opioid misuse and school factors. The present data used pooled 2015–2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health data to investigate the relationship between opioid misuse and school factors among a national sample of African American adolescents ages 12-17 (n = 7,236). Results revealed that a sizeable percentage of adolescents (3.51%) misused opioids in the past year. Adolescents at highest risk were female, older, in high school, participated in violence, and did not like school. Moreover, a greater percentage (∼33%) revealed the lack of drug education in schools. We believe our findings can inform behavioral health messages and harm reduction efforts.