Miller-Roenigk Brittany D, Stevens-Watkins Danelle
Deparetment of Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
Subst Use Misuse. 2025;60(11):1641-1649. doi: 10.1080/10826084.2025.2509262. Epub 2025 May 22.
Black Americans in Kentucky are disproportionately dying from opioid overdoses compared to other racial and ethnic groups. Despite increased mortality among this population, limited research examines factors associated with recent opioid misuse among Black adults in Kentucky. Previous literature shows that relational support and ethnic identity protect racial and ethnic minority groups from substance use behaviors, but limited research examines how these factors are associated with opioid misuse among Black adults. Grounded in Social Identity Theory, the present study examines the effect of ethnic identity on opioid misuse and the mediating effect of relational support.
Participants were 735 Black adults in Kentucky stratified by age and gender. Participants completed a quantitative survey examining ethnic identity, relational support, and past 30-day opioid misuse. Data were examined using PROCESS macro mediation analysis to determine the association between ethnic identity and recent opioid misuse, and whether relational support mediates this relationship.
While there was not a direct effect of ethnic identity on recent opioid misuse, there was a significant indirect/mediated effect. Specifically, increased ethnic identity is significantly associated with decreased past 30-day opioid misuse through increases in relational support.
Results highlight important implications for working with Black adults who misuse opioids (e.g., in clinical substance use treatment settings) that are discussed, such as the importance of fostering strong relational supports, such as instrumental and emotional support.
与其他种族和族裔群体相比，肯塔基州的非裔美国人死于阿片类药物过量的比例过高。尽管该人群的死亡率有所上升，但针对肯塔基州成年黑人近期阿片类药物滥用相关因素的研究却很有限。以往文献表明，关系支持和族群认同可保护种族和族裔少数群体免受物质使用行为的影响，但针对这些因素与成年黑人阿片类药物滥用之间关联的研究却很有限。基于社会认同理论，本研究考察了族群认同对阿片类药物滥用的影响以及关系支持的中介作用。
研究对象为735名按年龄和性别分层的肯塔基州成年黑人。参与者完成了一项定量调查，调查内容包括族群认同、关系支持以及过去30天内的阿片类药物滥用情况。使用PROCESS宏中介分析对数据进行检验，以确定族群认同与近期阿片类药物滥用之间的关联，以及关系支持是否介导了这种关系。
虽然族群认同对近期阿片类药物滥用没有直接影响，但存在显著的间接/中介效应。具体而言，族群认同的增强通过关系支持的增加与过去30天内阿片类药物滥用的减少显著相关。
研究结果凸显了与滥用阿片类药物的成年黑人合作（如在临床物质使用治疗环境中）的重要意义，文中对此进行了讨论，比如培养强大关系支持（如工具性支持和情感支持）的重要性。
