Prescription opioid misuse among university students: A systematic review

Nonmedical Prescription Opioid Use among a Sample of College Students: Prevalence and Predictors

“…Estimates of past-month NMPO were much lower, with approximately 1% of participants. These findings are similar to those reported by Kenne and colleagues [ 18 ], who described 9.5% of college students in their sample as reporting lifetime NMPO, as well as those found in a large systematic review of prescription opioid use among college students up until 2019, which found prevalence of misuse between approximately 5–20% [ 14 ]. Current findings are notably higher, however, than those found by Harries and colleagues, in which 2.2% of college students in the sample reported NMPO in the past 12 months, while 5.3% reported lifetime NMPO [ 16 ].…”

“…Although bivariate analyses revealed significantly higher lifetime estimates of NMPO for men (15%) relative to women (10%), this group difference was no longer significant once effects of other factors (i.e., use of alcohol, benzodiazepines, prescription stimulants, executive functioning) were adjusted for the analysis. Although findings concerning gender differences have been inconsistent in the literature [ 14 ], the present results are similar to those reported by Elliot and Jones, for example, who found similar patterns of NMPO between men and women; however, their sample was based on the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health and did not target college students [ 80 ]. Importantly, the current sample comprised of more females (77.1%) than males, and future studies should try to recruit a sample that is more representative in terms of sex, including students who identify as non-binary and students who are transgender.…”

“…Motivations for misuse, age of onset, access, concomitant substance use, and individual factors were explored among undergraduate students from two universities located in the United States. College students are of particular concern regarding NMPO given previous studies that have demonstrated that these students have an increased likelihood of misusing general prescription medication, including prescription stimulant medication, benzodiazepines, and opioids [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 22 ]. Thus, despite results not being appropriate for drawing conclusions concerning population parameter estimates, the present study contributes interesting information regarding possible characteristics and motivations of college students reporting NMPO, and it can assist future research in designing studies and hypotheses to help identify at risk students (and ultimately targeted interventions).…”

“…It is important to note that while both Kenne and colleagues’ [ 18 ] and Harries and colleagues’ [ 16 ] studies were conducted among a sample of college students at a midwestern university, Harries and colleagues’ study [ 16 ] was conducted several years later and had a larger, more representative sample. Geographic location differences may possibly explain these disparate findings [ 14 ]. Indeed, in the current sample, a higher number of students from the northeastern university reported lifetime NMPO, compared to their southeastern counterparts.…”

“…College students between the ages of 18–25, known to engage in high rates of substance use, including alcohol and cannabis, have also been found to engage in misuse of prescription medications, including NMPO [ 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Specific prevalence estimates of NMPO within college student samples are highly variable, ranging from between 7.5% to 32% across samples [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ].…”