# Risk for opioid abuse and misuse in adolescence

> **NIH NIH R01** · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $648,453

## Abstract

Risk for Opioid Abuse and Misuse in Adolescence
Abstract
Current rates of prescription opioid misuse are rising to epidemic levels among adults. These rates may be
even higher among adolescents, who have elevated levels of substance exploration and misuse during this
precise developmental period. Adolescents who are exposed to opioids via legitimate prescriptions are at
increased risk for misuse after high school. However, there is a substantial gap in our knowledge of what
factors might contribute to the development of misuse and related poor outcomes in these high-risk youth.
Identifying factors that convey risk for increasing opioid use and problematic use would inform adolescent
models of opioid abuse and inform the development of preventive interventions to modify risk in the medical
setting. The pediatric medical setting, where adolescents are exposed to opioids via legitimate prescription is a
unique point of entry into opioid use, and a key setting in which to examine adolescent outcomes. The
proposed study will utilize a developmental model of the impact of opioid exposure by legitimate prescription
during late adolescence, with consideration for pain and psychological characteristics of the individual within
the family and peer context. Predictors and mechanisms of increasing opioid use and problematic use will be
examined over a 2 year time period during late adolescence. The central hypothesis is that adolescent pain
characteristics will influence opioid use and problems over time, and that opioid availability will mediate this
association. Pain medication specific parent factors will also be examined, including parental chronic pain and
opioid prescriptions, attitudes about pain medications, and pain catastrophizing. Longitudinal models of opioid
use and opioid problems will be tested in a sample of 14-18 year olds receiving opioid prescriptions for non-
cancer pain in outpatient medical settings (n= 500 adolescents and a parent will be enrolled). These
adolescents will be assessed every 6 months for 2 years, and will report on pain characteristics, opioid and
other substance use and problems, peer factors, as well as pain catastrophizing and other pain-related
psychological factors. Objective data on dispensed opioid medications will be obtained from prescription drug
monitoring databases. Daily associations between adolescent pain, pain catastrophizing, and opioid use will
also be examined. Determining mechanisms and moderators of risk during this developmental transition will
provide critical information for the design of interventions aimed at reducing opioid use disorders in at-risk
youth.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10320341
- **Project number:** 5R01DA044778-05
- **Recipient organization:** OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Sarah W. Feldstein Ewing
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $648,453
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-03-15 → 2024-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10320341

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10320341, Risk for opioid abuse and misuse in adolescence (5R01DA044778-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10320341. Licensed CC0.

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