Nonmedical Prescription Drug Use Among Adults in Their Late Twenties: The Importance of Social Bonding Trajectories

• Author: Xiaozhao Y. Yang,Tingzhong Yang
• Date: 01 October 2017
• Published date: 01 October 2017
• DOI: 10.1177/0022042617722563
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0022042617722563

Journal of Drug Issues

2017, Vol. 47(4) 665 –678

© The Author(s) 2017

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DOI: 10.1177/0022042617722563

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Article

Nonmedical Prescription Drug

Use Among Adults in Their Late

Twenties: The Importance of

Social Bonding Trajectories

Xiaozhao Y. Yang1 and Tingzhong Yang2

Abstract

Although weak social bonds are found to be associated with addictive behaviors in cross-sectional

studies, few studies have explored the longitudinal impacts of social bonds on nonmedical

prescription drug use (NPDU). This study adopted a developmental perspective on social bonds

and tested how their different trajectories are associated with NPDU among adults. With panel

surveys from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health from 1994 to 2008,

this study employed group-based latent trajectory modeling to obtain the different trajectories

of social bonds including religious, civic, familial, educational, and marital, and then used them as

predictors of NPDU while controlling for potential confounders and the baseline NPDU. The

findings show that constant and high-level social bonds significantly reduce the risk of NPDU,

except for educational bond. However, for religious, civic, and educational bonds, the “low

initial” trajectories are not significantly different from the “high-decrease” trajectories, implying

that strong early-life social bonds do not prevent NPDU if such bonds register a recent decline.

Weak social bonds constitute significant risk of NPDU for adults in their late twenties, and

recent social bonds override the contribution of early-life bonds in most cases. Policy makers

may consider strategies to sustain the active and meaningful participation in conventional

institutions, and not solely rely on programs that facilitate early-life social integration.

Keywords

social bond, life course, nonmedical prescription drug use, social control theory, latent trajectory

modeling

Introduction

Nonmedical prescription drug use (NPDU) is an emerging public health concern in the United

States. Compared with several decades ago, today’s NPDU spreads well beyond adolescents and

into the adult population (Inciardi & Cicero, 2009). Between 2005 and 2010, emergency room

visits caused by NPDU had doubled (Mazer-Amirshahi, Mullins, Rasooly, van den Anker, &

Pines, 2014). As reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; 2012),

1Murray State University, Murray, KY, USA

2Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China

Corresponding Author:

Xiaozhao Y. Yang, Department of Political Science and Sociology, Murray State University, 5A6 Faculty Hall, Murray

KY 42071, USA.

Email: Xyang7@murraystate.edu

722563JODXXX10.1177/0022042617722563Journal of Drug IssuesYang and Yang

research-article2017