Motivations for prescription drug misuse among young men who have sex with men (YMSM) in Philadelphia.
BACKGROUND
Prescription drug misuse (i.e. opioids, tranquilizers and stimulants) has become the fastest growing area of substance abuse among young adults. Limited studies focus on prescription drug misuse among young men who have sex with men (YMSM, aged 18-29 years). Furthermore, little is known about YMSM's motivations for misuse. The purpose of this study was to explore personal motivations for prescription drug misuse among YMSM, including the possible connection between misuse and sexual behaviors.


METHODS
As part of a larger mixed methods study of 191 YMSM recruited in Philadelphia during 2012-2013, we conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 25 of these participants to gather additional contextual information about their prescription drug misuse. We conducted thematic analysis of qualitative data.


RESULTS
While our results corroborated previous literature on motives for misuse of prescription drugs, our data yielded some distinct motivations specific among YMSM. These motives included social/recreational motives, facilitating sex with other men (including motives such as use of opioids for less painful anal receptive sex), and psychological motives such as depression, stress management, coping with everyday hardships (opioids and tranquilizers) or feeling more energized (stimulants). Prescription drugs were commonly misused within the broader contexts of participants' polysubstance use, adding to the significance of this problem.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings offer insights into YMSM's motivations for prescription drug misuse, and point to the importance of recognizing and addressing them. While substance use is likely related to various psychosocial issues impacting YMSM, it also may lead to significant health consequences. Results support the need to include prescription drugs and polysubstance use in harm reduction messages and treatment approaches aimed at substance using YMSM.
San Diego State University (SDSU) Graduate School of Public Health, Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Science, 9245 Sky Park Court, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92123, United States. Electronic address: akecojevic@mail.sdsu.edu.
Aleksandar
A
Kecojevic
San Diego State University (SDSU) Graduate School of Public Health, Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Science, 9245 Sky Park Court, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92123, United States.
Heather L
HL
Corliss
Drexel University School of Public Health, Department of Community Health and Prevention, 3215 Market Street, Nesbitt Building, 4th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States.
Stephen E
SE
Lankenau
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010414:Pennsylvania; D063487:Prescription Drug Misuse / Q000523:psychology*; D011998:Recreation; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D055815:Young Adult
Motives; Polysubstance use; Prescription drug misuse; YMSM