TY - JOUR
AU - K. K. Rigg
AU - E. S. Kusiak
AU - L. K. Rigg
A1 - 
AB - BACKGROUND: A wide range of opioid misuse motives have been documented in the literature, including to relieve physical pain, feel good/get high, relax, manage feelings/emotions, sleep, and moderate the effects of other substances. Despite a rise in opioid misuse among African Americans over the last 2 decades, their motivations for misuse remain unclear. Much of the research on opioid misuse motivations either rely on samples with little racial diversity or do not stratify their findings by race. As a result, less is known about the specific reasons why African Americans engage in opioid misuse. The objective of this study, therefore, was to identify and explain the most common motives for misusing opioids among African Americans. Qualitative interview data are also presented to explain/contextualize the most prevalent motivations. METHODS: This study used data from the Florida Minority Health Survey, a mixed-methods project that included online surveys (n = 303) and qualitative in-depth interviews (n = 30) of African Americans. Data collection was conducted from August 2021 to February 2022 throughout Southwest Florida. RESULTS: Analyses revealed that while some (33.9%) misused opioids for purposes of recreation/sensation seeking (eg, feel good/get high), the majority (66.1%) were attempting to self-treat perceived medical symptoms (eg, physical pain, anxiety/trauma, withdrawals, insomnia). CONCLUSIONS: This study contributes to a better understanding of why some African Americans engage in opioid misuse and findings highlight the need for interventions to be trauma informed and address unmanaged physical pain among African Americans. Given that most studies on motivations are quantitative in nature, the study contributes to the literature by capturing the voices of African Americans who use drugs.
AD - Department of Mental Health Law & Policy, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.; School of Psychology and Counseling, Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA, USA.
AN - 38258821
BT - Subst Use Addctn J
C5 - Opioids & Substance Use; Healthcare Disparities
CP - 2
DA - Apr
DO - 10.1177/29767342231214118
DP - NLM
ET - 20240102
IS - 2
JF - Subst Use Addctn J
LA - eng
N2 - BACKGROUND: A wide range of opioid misuse motives have been documented in the literature, including to relieve physical pain, feel good/get high, relax, manage feelings/emotions, sleep, and moderate the effects of other substances. Despite a rise in opioid misuse among African Americans over the last 2 decades, their motivations for misuse remain unclear. Much of the research on opioid misuse motivations either rely on samples with little racial diversity or do not stratify their findings by race. As a result, less is known about the specific reasons why African Americans engage in opioid misuse. The objective of this study, therefore, was to identify and explain the most common motives for misusing opioids among African Americans. Qualitative interview data are also presented to explain/contextualize the most prevalent motivations. METHODS: This study used data from the Florida Minority Health Survey, a mixed-methods project that included online surveys (n = 303) and qualitative in-depth interviews (n = 30) of African Americans. Data collection was conducted from August 2021 to February 2022 throughout Southwest Florida. RESULTS: Analyses revealed that while some (33.9%) misused opioids for purposes of recreation/sensation seeking (eg, feel good/get high), the majority (66.1%) were attempting to self-treat perceived medical symptoms (eg, physical pain, anxiety/trauma, withdrawals, insomnia). CONCLUSIONS: This study contributes to a better understanding of why some African Americans engage in opioid misuse and findings highlight the need for interventions to be trauma informed and address unmanaged physical pain among African Americans. Given that most studies on motivations are quantitative in nature, the study contributes to the literature by capturing the voices of African Americans who use drugs.
PY - 2024
SN - 2976-7342
SP - 240
EP - 249+
ST - Motivations for Misusing Opioids Among African Americans
T1 - Motivations for Misusing Opioids Among African Americans
T2 - Subst Use Addctn J
TI - Motivations for Misusing Opioids Among African Americans
U1 - Opioids & Substance Use; Healthcare Disparities
U3 - 10.1177/29767342231214118
VL - 45
VO - 2976-7342
Y1 - 2024
ER -