Importance Limited information is available regarding the association between parental and adolescent medical prescription opioid use and misuse in the US. Objective To examine the associations between parental and adolescent prescription opioid medical use and misuse. Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional, nationally representative study included 15 200 parent-adolescent dyads from the annual 2015-2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Data were collected from January 6, 2015, to December 20, 2017, and analyzed from October 4, 2019, to October 15, 2020. Exposures Parental past 12-month exclusive medical prescription opioid use and any misuse (ie, using without a prescription or in any way not directed by a physician). Main Outcomes and Measures Adolescent past 12-month medical prescription opioid use or misuse. Multivariable regressions estimated associations between parental and offspring medical prescription opioid use or misuse, controlling for sociodemographic and psychosocial variables. Results Respondents included 9400 mother-child and 5800 father-child dyads in the same household; children were aged 12 to 17 years (52.8% male; mean [SD] age, 14.5 [1.7] years). Controlling for other factors, parental medical prescription opioid use was associated with adolescent prescription opioid medical use (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.28; 95% CI, 1.06-1.53) and misuse (aOR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.07-2.25), whereas parental misuse was not. Parental medical prescription stimulant use was associated with adolescent medical prescription opioid use (aOR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.02-1.91). Parental marijuana use (aOR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.13-2.99), parent-adolescent conflict (aOR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.05-1.52), and adolescent depression (aOR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.26-2.44) were associated with adolescent prescription opioid misuse. Adolescent delinquency (aOR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.38-1.74) and perceived schoolmates' drug use (aOR, 2.87; 95% CI, 1.95-4.23) were also associated with adolescent misuse and more weakly with medical use (aORs, 1.13 [95% CI, 1.05-1.22] and 1.61 [95% CI, 1.32-1.96], respectively). Conclusions and Relevance Youth use of prescription opioids is in part a structural/environmental issue. The findings of this study suggest that parental medical prescription opioid use is associated with offspring prescription opioid use, whereas parental misuse is not. Restricting physicians' opioid prescribing to parents is a crucial public health goal. In addition, parents could be educated on the risks of their prescription opioid use for offspring and on practices to mitigate risk, including safe medication storage and disposal. Screening for parental prescription opioid use could be part of pediatric practice. Addressing adolescent mental health could also reduce adolescent prescription opioid misuse. This cross-sectional study examines the associations between parental and adolescent prescription opioid medical use and misuse among parent and adolescent dyads in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Question What are the patterns of association between parental and adolescent medical prescription opioid use and misuse in the US? Findings In this nationally representative cross-sectional study of 15 200 parent-adolescent dyads from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, controlling for other factors, parental medical prescription opioid use within the past year was associated with adolescent medical prescription opioid use and misuse, whereas parental misuse was not. Meaning These findings suggest that reducing opioid prescribing by physicians and educating families about medication use practices that restrict the availability of prescription opioids to adolescents in the home could be important targets for reducing adolescent prescription opioid misuse.
