Kasson Erin, Szlyk Hannah S, Li Xiao, Rajamahanty Aishwarya, Nakshatri Sapna, Kaiser Nina, Constantino-Pettit Anna, Baiden Philip, Filiatreau Lindsey M, Cavazos-Rehg Patricia
Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
School of Social Work, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, USA.
Subst Use Misuse. 2025;60(9):1286-1297. doi: 10.1080/10826084.2025.2495778. Epub 2025 May 6.
The opioid crisis is a significant public health concern. Online social networking platforms allow individuals with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) to connect with others with shared experiences, which may combat treatment barriers. This study explored the self-reported advantages and disadvantages of engaging with social media content related to opioid misuse.
Participants who reported ever misusing opioids ( = 248) were recruited from opioid-related forums on Reddit. Qualitative analysis identified themes in open-ended survey responses regarding perceived advantages, disadvantages, and impacts of online networking about opioid misuse. Bivariate analyses were conducted to compare qualitative themes mentioned by participants with their quantitative survey responses regarding treatment interest, perceived social support, and OUD symptom severity.
Advantages to socially networking about opioid misuse reported included connecting with others (69.5%), seeking advice (31.7%), and reduced fears of stigma/judgment (11.8%). Disadvantages reported included fear of being monitored (31.5%), receiving judgment/negative comments (28.6%), and viewing triggering content (12.9%). Mixed method analyses indicated that those who mentioned privacy of online communities as an advantage were less likely to report interest in treatment ( = 0.02). Those who reported having a non-judgmental community/outlet as an advantage were more likely to report higher levels of opioid dependence in the past 30 days ( = 0.03).
Online networking about opioid misuse has both advantages and disadvantages, and these perceived impacts vary by an individual's readiness for recovery and/or treatment. The findings of this study have implications for research and practice involving development of non-stigmatizing forms of assessment and support including harm reduction strategies.
阿片类药物危机是一个重大的公共卫生问题。在线社交网络平台使患有阿片类药物使用障碍（OUD）的个体能够与有共同经历的其他人建立联系，这可能有助于克服治疗障碍。本研究探讨了参与与阿片类药物滥用相关的社交媒体内容的自我报告的优点和缺点。
从Reddit上与阿片类药物相关的论坛招募了曾报告有阿片类药物滥用行为的参与者（n = 248）。定性分析确定了开放式调查回复中关于阿片类药物滥用在线社交的感知优点、缺点和影响的主题。进行双变量分析以比较参与者提到的定性主题与他们关于治疗兴趣、感知社会支持和OUD症状严重程度的定量调查回复。
报告的阿片类药物滥用在线社交的优点包括与他人建立联系（69.5%）、寻求建议（31.7%）和减少对耻辱感/评判的恐惧（11.8%）。报告的缺点包括担心被监控（31.5%）、受到评判/负面评论（28.6%）和看到触发内容（12.9%）。混合方法分析表明，那些将在线社区的隐私视为优点的人报告对治疗感兴趣的可能性较小（p = 0.02）。那些将非评判性社区/渠道视为优点的人在过去30天内报告阿片类药物依赖水平较高的可能性更大（p = 0.03）。
阿片类药物滥用的在线社交既有优点也有缺点，这些感知到的影响因个体的康复和/或治疗准备情况而异。本研究的结果对涉及开发包括减少伤害策略在内的非污名化评估和支持形式的研究和实践具有启示意义。
