Non-Medical Use of Prescription Drugs and Mental Health among Adolescents

The purpose of the study is to investigate the relationship between non-medical use of prescription drugs and mental health outcomes among adolescents. Prescription opioids are effective treatment for chronic and acute pain and although most people use their medicines appropriately, recently, the non-medical use of prescription opioids has increased dramatically in the USA, especially among adolescents. According to a recent SAMHSA report, non-medical prescription opioids were second only to marijuana as the most frequently used illegal drug.  Prescription opioids are highly reinforcing and prolonged use can produce neurological changes and physiological dependence.  Specifically, non-medical users have an increased risk of developing mood and anxiety disorders. Causal hypotheses remain largely unexplored, as current knowledge of possible mechanisms of the linkage between mood and anxiety and opioid use is limited. Using data from the 2009 – 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the study employs a propensity score matching methodology to ascertain whether non-medical use of prescription drugs leads to major depressive episodes among adolescents. The paper documents a positive association between nonmedical use of prescription opioids and major depressive episodes as opioids have been found to selectively bind to neuroreceptors that modulate mood, such as serotonin and dopamine.