Illicit use of opioid analgesics by high school seniors.

The illicit use of opioid analgesics represents a growing problem among American adolescents. In order to examine the correlates associated with the illicit use of opioid analgesics, a nationally representative sample of 4,522 high school seniors from the 2002 Monitoring the Future database was examined. Multivariate logistic regression indicated that illicit users of prescription opioid analgesics were significantly more likely to be male, White, and have lower grade point averages. Illicit users of opioid analgesics also reported higher rates of cigarette smoking, alcohol use, marijuana use, other illicit drug use, and problem behaviors. The present study provides evidence that the illicit use of opioid analgesics represents a problem among American high school seniors and effective prevention and intervention efforts are needed.