School racial composition and lifetime non-medical use of prescription painkillers: Evidence from the national longitudinal study of adolescent to adult health

Abstract

We found evidence of an effect of school racial composition on the risk of misusing prescription painkillers over a decade later, over and above individual race, with higher risk of misuse reported among participants who had attended white schools. Black participants who had attended predominantly white schools were, on average, twice as likely to report lifetime misuse of prescription painkillers compared to blacks who had attended black schools.

An association between multiculturalism and psychological distress

“…Not to be limited to rural and suburban areas, researchers note that the epidemic is urban as well [2]. White-majority spaces have even been tied to an increase among non-white populations in the risk of non-medical prescription painkiller misuse; longitudinal data revealed that black youth who attended majority-white schools were at higher risk a decade later of non-medical prescription painkiller misuse than black students who attended majority black schools [9]. Considering the substantial time and resources devoted to researching these issues, which afflict young and old, under-resourced and affluent, it is quite striking that only one primary commonality stands out in the current crisis: whiteness.…”