Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Exploring Young Opioid Users’ Motivation To Seek Treatment For Substance Use Disorder, Patricia Gianotti-Avella

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the past 15 years, the nonmedical use of opioids in the United States has reached epidemic proportions, resulting in a 21% increase in overdose fatalities. This surge in opioid use and dependence represents a shift in the demographic from inner-city populations over the age of 40 to young adults between the ages of 20 and 34 who dwell in primarily white suburban neighborhoods. Research has identified physicians’ liberal prescribing practices as one cause of this epidemic and has documented the ineffectiveness of current interventions with young addicts. The purpose of this narrative study was to gain insight into what …