Gender Differences Among College Students Who Misuse Prescription Opioids

Prescription opioid misuse is a significant problem on college campuses (McCabe, Teter, Boyd, Knight, & Wechsler, 2005). According to the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study, 6.2% of surveyed college students reported misusing prescription opioids in the preceding 12-month period (Dennhardt & Murphy, 2013). College is a vulnerable time for students given they are away from home and family support often for the first times in their lives. Additionally, mental health disorders including substance use often surface during the late adolescent to early adulthood life transition period. Multiple studies suggest gender differences in prescription opioid misuse (Back, Payne, Simpson, & Brady, 2010; McCabe, Cranford, Boyd, & Teter, 2007). Additionally, gender differences were reported among participants who misused prescription opioids but not among participants who used substances or alcohol among the same sample (Stolberg, 2009). The current manuscript will examine previous research on gender differences in the college student population who misuse prescription opioids and explore preventative measures and interventions.