Motives, diversion and routes of administration associated with nonmedical use of prescription opioids.
OBJECTIVE
The main objectives of this study were to assess the motives, diversion sources and routes of administration associated with the nonmedical use of prescription opioids as well as to examine substance use related problems associated with the nonmedical use of prescription opioids.


METHODS
A self-administered, cross-sectional Web survey was conducted in 2005 at a large public Midwestern 4-year university in the U.S. using a probability-based sampling approach. The final sample included 4580 full-time undergraduate students.


RESULTS
The three most common motives associated with the nonmedical use of prescription opioids were to relieve pain, get high, and experiment. The leading sources of prescription opioids were friends and parents although there were gender differences in reports of primary sources. More than 1 in every 10 nonmedical users reported intranasal administration. Multivariate analyses indicated nonmedical users of prescription opioids who used for motives other than to relieve pain, obtained these drugs from non-parental sources, or used these drugs via non-oral routes of administration were significantly more likely to experience substance use related problems.


CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that nonmedical use of prescription opioids represents a considerable problem for particular subgroups of college students. While additional research is needed, the present study offers important new directions for policy and research regarding prescription opioid misuse.
McCabe
Sean Esteban
SE
University of Michigan Substance Abuse Research Center, 2025 Traverwood Dr., Suite C, Ann Arbor, MI 48105-2194, USA. plius@umich.edu
Cranford
James A
JA
Boyd
Carol J
CJ
Teter
Christian J
CJ
D000281:Administration, Intranasal; D000284:Administration, Oral; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D000431:Ethanol / Q000506:poisoning; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D009294:Narcotics / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D010290:Parents; D013334:Students; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*
D009294:Narcotics; D000431:Ethanol