Adverse Childhood Experiences Predict Early Initiation of Opioid Use Behaviors.

Although a substantial body of research documents a relationship between traumatic stress in childhood and the initiation of substance use later in the life course, only limited research has examined potential linkages between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the initiation of non-medical prescription opioid use and other opioid use behaviors. The present study contributes to this growing body of work by investigating the association of childhood trauma with early initiation of a series of opioid use behaviors. New York City young adults ( = 539) ages 18-29 who reported non-medical use of prescription opioids or heroin use in the past 30 days were recruited using Respondent-Driven Sampling in 2014-16.

Prescription opioid injection among young people who inject drugs in New York City: a mixed-methods description and associations with hepatitis C virus infection and overdose.

Aim: Evidence is emerging that prescription opioid (PO) injection is associated with increased health risks. This mixed-methods study compares the mechanics of PO and heroin injection and examines the demographic and drug-related correlates of lifetime PO injection in a sample of young people who inject drugs (PWID) in New York City (NYC).

Methods: Qualitative analysis of 46 semi-structured interviews with young adult opioid users ages 18-32.

Young adults' opioid use trajectories: From nonmedical prescription opioid use to heroin, drug injection, drug treatment and overdose.

Introduction: Recent research has begun to explore the transition from nonmedical use of prescription opioids (POs) to heroin and injection drug use, adding to earlier literature identifying factors that influence the transition from intranasal to injection use of heroin. However, little research has explored how these transitions are embedded within young people's broader opioid use trajectories - individual pathways that may also include experiences of nonfatal overdose and drug treatment.

Methods: Data are from a study of 539 18-29 year-old New York City residents, recruited via Respondent-Driven Sampling, who reported past-month nonmedical use of POs and/or heroin use.

High enhancer, downer, withdrawal helper: Multifunctional nonmedical benzodiazepine use among young adult opioid users in New York City.

Background: Benzodiazepines are a widely prescribed psychoactive drug; in the U.S., both medical and nonmedical use of benzodiazepines has increased markedly in the past 15 years.

The Depression Schema: How Labels, Features, and Causal Explanations Affect Lay Conceptions of Depression.

Depression is a common clinical disorder characterized by a complex web of psychological, behavioral, and neurological causes and symptoms. Here we investigate everyday beliefs and attitudes about depression, as well as the factors that shape the depression schemas people hold. In each of three studies, participants read about a person experiencing several symptoms of depression and answered questions about their conception of the disorder.

Sexual Violence in the Context of Drug Use Among Young Adult Opioid Users in New York City.

Drug and alcohol use have been associated with increased risk for sexual violence, but there is little research on sexual violence within the context of drug use among young adult opioid users. The current mixed-methods study explores young adult opioid users' sexual experiences in the context of their drug use. Forty-six New York City young adults (ages 18-32) who reported lifetime nonmedical use of prescription opioids (POs) completed in-depth, semistructured interviews, and 164 (ages 18-29) who reported heroin and/or nonmedical PO use in the past 30 days completed structured assessments that inquired about their drug use and sexual behavior and included questions specific to sexual violence.