Table 1.1.

Summary of prescription (Rx) drug abuse articles including racial/ethnic minority adults (n = 14)

Study	*Design and sample size	**Rx drugs	Primary measures	Key findings
[1] Arkes et al. (2008)	Secondary analysis; n = 164,87 U.S. representative sample; demographic breakdown for race/ethnicity likely reflects U.S. population	AN, ST	Nat’l Survey on Drug Use and Health	Racial/ethnic minority adults were less likely to abuse painkillers and stimulants compared to Whites.
[2] Bali et al. (2013)	Secondary analysis; n = 15,509,703; 25% African American, Latino, and Other racial/ethnic minorities	AN, T, ST, SE	Nat’l Survey on Drug Use and Health	Higher rates of Rx drugs among Latinos with health insurance versus the uninsured.
[3] Cicero et al. (2011)	Secondary analysis; n = 1,983 diagnosed opioid substance abusers; 5.2% African American, 4.2% Latino, 8.1% Other/Unknown	O	Survey of Key Informants Patient's (SKIP)	Immediate release oxycodone was the primary opioid abused. Racial/ethnic minorities were less likely to be opioid abusers than Whites.
[4] Goldsworthy et al. (2008)	Qualitative; n = 700 adults across the U.S.; 24.3% African American, 24.1% Hispanic, and 1% Asian		Interviews	23.5% of African Americans, 23.1% of Latinos, and 30.4% of others reported taking prescriptions that belong to someone else.
[5] Ibañez et al. (2013)	Non-experimental; n = 1,207; 23% African American, 23% Latino, and 5% Other racial/ethnic minority	B	Global Appraisal of Individual Needs	African Americans and Latinos had lower rates of benzodiazepine use compared to Whites.
[6] Martins et al. (2015)	Secondary analysis; n = 36,781 young adults nationwide; demographic breakdown for race/ethnicity likely reflects U.S. population	O, ST	Nat’l Survey on Drug Use and Health	African Americans, Asians, and Latinos were less likely to misuse Rx opiates/stimulants compared to Whites. For Latinos, the risk of Rx misuse of opioids was minimal across education levels. The relationship between educational attainment and risk of Rx misuse was pronounced among Native Americans/Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans though not dissimilar from Whites.
[7] McCabe (2005b)	Secondary analysis; n = 10,904 college students; 7.7% Latino, 7.2% African American, 7.6% Asian American, and 8.6% Other	B, AX	Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study survey	3.6% of African Americans, 3.6% of Asian Americans, 3.9% of Latinos, and 6.6% of others reported lifetime use of Rx benzodiazepine anxiolytics. Past year use ranged from 2.2% to 4.1% among racial/ethnic minorities.
[8] McCabe et al. (2007a)	Secondary analysis; n = 54,567 college students; 2% at HBCUs	AM, O, SE, T	College Alcohol Study	Students at historically Black colleges (HBCU's) had a significant increase in non-medical Rx drug use between 1993 and 2001.
[9] McCabe et al. (2007b)	Secondary analysis; n = 43,093 general population; 12% Latino, 11.5% African American, 4% Asian, and 2% Native American/Other	T, SE, ST, O,	Nat’l Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions	The odds of lifetime Rx abuse and dependence is lower for African Americans and Asian Americans and is slightly higher for Latinos and Native Americans compared to Whites.
[10] McCabe et al. (2014)	Secondary analysis; n = 21,771 undergraduates; 13% Asian American, 6% African American, 4% Latino, and 10% Other race/ethnic	SL, SE, ST, O, and other	College Student Life Survey	No significant changes in Rx drug abuse among racial/ethnic minorities including Asian Americans, African Americans, Latinos, or Others between 2003 and 2013.
[11] Varga et al. (2015)	Cross-sectional; n = 1,015 graduate students; .7% American Indian, 11% Asian, 5% African American, and 2% Latino	ST	Online survey developed from Monitoring the Future	The majority of illicit users were White (91%) followed by two African American participants, one Asian, four American Indians, and two Hispanics.
[12] Wang et al. (2013)	Secondary analysis; n = 75,964 rural U.S. residents; 11% African American, 14.1% Latino, and 6.6% Other race/ethnicity	O	Nat’l Survey on Drug Use and Health	Urban residents who were African American and Latino were less likely to abuse Rx opioids
[13] Wu et al. (2010)	Secondary analysis; n = 43,093 general population; 12% Latino, 11.5% African American, 4% Asian, and 2% Native American/Other	O	Nat’l Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions	Nonmedical opioid use was lower among African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos, but higher among Native Indian/Alaska Natives in comparison to Whites.
[14] Vietri et al. (2014)	Quantitative; n = 1,242 opioid abusers, 58.4% women	O	Work Productivity and Activity Impairment questionnaire	Ethnic/racial minorities had significantly more prescription opioid abuse in the past 3 months than Whites.

Note:

^*The sample characteristics and findings highlight data for racial/ethnic minorities in the sample and may not include primary findings of the study.

^**Rx abbreviations are as follows; A_N=analgesics, A_X= anxiolytics, A_M=amphetamines, B=benzodiazepines, O=opioids, S_E=sedatives, S_L=sleep, S_T=stimulants, T=tranquilizers