Papers by Pamela Griesler

American Journal of Public Health, Sep 1, 2019
Objectives. To characterize prescription opioid medical users and misusers among US adults.Method... more Objectives. To characterize prescription opioid medical users and misusers among US adults.Methods. We used the 2016–2017 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health to compare medical prescription opioid users with misusers without prescriptions, misusers of own prescriptions, and misusers with both types of misuse. Multinomial logistic regressions identified substance use characteristics and mental and physical health characteristics that distinguished the groups.Results. Among prescription opioid users, 12% were misusers; 58% of misusers misused their own prescriptions. Misusers had higher rates of substance use than did medical users. Compared with with-prescription-only misusers, without-and-with-prescription misusers and without-prescription-only misusers had higher rates of marijuana use and benzodiazepine misuse; without-and-with-prescription misusers had higher rates of heroin use. Compared with without-prescription-only misusers, without-and-with-prescription and with-prescription-only misusers had higher rates of prescription opioid use disorder. Most misusers, especially with-prescription-only misusers, used prescription opioids to relieve pain. Misusers were more likely to be depressed than medical users.Conclusions. Prescription opioid misusers who misused both their own prescriptions and prescription opioid drugs not prescribed to them may be most at risk for overdose. Prescription opioid misuse is a polysubstance use problem.
Journal of studies on alcohol, May 1, 1998
Oxford University Press eBooks, Dec 1, 2017
The epidemiology of drug use in the general population includes two distinct streams of research.... more The epidemiology of drug use in the general population includes two distinct streams of research. The more common stream measures consumption patterns by asking individuals whether (and how frequently) they have ever used specific classes of drugs. The second stream measures the extent of problematic drug use by asking individuals about behaviors and symptoms that would meet the criteria for a substance use disorder. This chapter presents data on the epidemiology and phenomenology of substance use disorders from comparative and developmental perspectives, focusing on DSM-5 definitions, prevalence for types of drugs and by age, gender, and race/ethnicity, comorbidity with psychiatric disorders, and developmental stages.

Social Science Research Network, Aug 18, 2009
Extent and sources of inconsistency in self-reported cigarette smoking between self-administered ... more Extent and sources of inconsistency in self-reported cigarette smoking between self-administered school surveys and household interviews was examined in two longitudinal multiethnic adolescent samples, the urban Transition to Nicotine Dependence in Adolescence (TND) (N = 832) and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) (N = 4,414). Inconsistency was defined as a positive report of smoking in school followed by a negative report in the household. Smoking questions were ascertained with paper-and-pencil instruments (PAPI-SAQ) in school in both studies, and computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) in TND but audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (ACASI) in Add Health in the household. In TND, 23.5 percent of youths who reported smoking lifetime and 20.4 percent of those who reported smoking the last 12 months in the school survey reported in the household never having smoked; in Add Health, the latter was 8.6 percent. Logistic regressions identified five common correlates of inconsistency across the two studies: younger age, ethnic minority status, lesser involvement in deviant activities, having nonsmoking parents and friends. In TND, interviewing of youth and parent by the same interviewer increased inconsistent reporting. Matching the definition of inconsistent reporting and the age, gender and race/ethnic distributions of TND on an urban Add Health subsample reduced the predicted rate of inconsistency in TND. The estimated bias attributable to CAPI compared with ACASI methodology did not reach significance in the aggregated matched samples suggesting that irrespective of administration mode, household interviews decrease reporting of smoking, especially among younger, minority and more conventional youths embedded in a social network of nonsmokers.

Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2002
To identify and compare predictors of adolescent smoking initiation and persistence among African... more To identify and compare predictors of adolescent smoking initiation and persistence among African American, Hispanic and White adolescents in a longitudinal national sample. The sample includes 1537 mother-child dyads from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). Family, youth, peer and sociodemographic risk and protective factors were analyzed. White adolescents reported the highest rates of smoking initiation and persistence; African Americans and Hispanics the lowest. Multivariate analyses revealed mostly common and few ethnic-specific predictors of smoking initiation and persistence. For initiation, maternal current smoking, child age, child problem behavior, and perceived peer pressure to smoke were predictive across ethnic groups; female gender and ineffective parenting were predictive among Whites only. For persistence, child age, child problem behavior and perceived scholastic competence were predictive across ethnic groups; negative mood was predictive among Whites only. More common than unique factors predict smoking initiation and persistence among adolescents of different ethnicity. However, the power to detect ethnicity-by-predictor interactions with respect to persistence was low. Social factors are more important for smoking initiation, whereas individual factors are more important for persistence, although child problem behaviors are common determinants both of initiation and persistence. With few exceptions, universal anti-smoking interventions should be targeted to youths of different ethnicity.

Journal of Adolescent Health, 1998
To examine the correlates of cigarette smoking among African-American, Hispanic, and white adoles... more To examine the correlates of cigarette smoking among African-American, Hispanic, and white adolescents in a cross-sectional national sample. A total of 1795 mother-child dyads from the 1992 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were selected for analyses. Measures of adolescents cigarette smoking and family, individual, peer, and sociodemographic risk factors were analyzed. White youths reported the highest rates of lifetime, current, and persistent smoking, and initiated smoking at a significantly earlier age than African-Americans and Hispanics. Except for maternal cigarette smoking and substance use, African-Americans and Hispanics experienced a disproportionately larger number of purported risk factors than whites. Multivariate analyses revealed common and ethnic-specific correlates of adolescent lifetime and current smoking, with many more significant associations among whites than minorities. Common correlates included youth's age across all three ethnic groups, problem behaviors and delinquency among whites and African-Americans, and perceived peer pressure to smoke among whites and Hispanics. Ethnic-specific correlates included maternal smoking, maternal cocaine use, low maternal religiosity, and negative scholastic attitudes, which increased smoking for whites; and positive parenting, which reduced smoking for African-Americans. The lack of effects of maternal smoking and perceived peer pressure to smoke on African-American adolescents compared with whites suggests that role modeling and interpersonal influence may be more important determinants of smoking for white than African-American adolescents. The differential impact of family and peer factors on the smoking of adolescents of different ethnicity warrants further investigation.
JAMA Network Open, 2021
IMPORTANCE Limited information is available regarding the association between parental and adoles... more 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.

Pediatrics, 2019
BACKGROUND: To date, intergenerational patterns of nonmedical prescription opioid (NMPO) use have... more BACKGROUND: To date, intergenerational patterns of nonmedical prescription opioid (NMPO) use have not been examined. We investigate the association between parental and adolescent NMPO use in the United States. METHODS: Data are from 35 000 parent-child dyads with an adolescent aged 12 to 17 years from the 2004-2012 nationally representative National Surveys on Drug Use and Health. Using multivariable logistic regression models, we estimated the association between self-reported parental and adolescent lifetime NMPO use, controlling for parental and adolescent use of other drugs, attitudes about drug use, parental and adolescent psychosocial risk factors, and sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS: Controlling for other factors, parental NMPO use was associated with adolescent NMPO use (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.30; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.09-1.56). Mothers' use had a stronger association with adolescent use than fathers' use (aOR 1.62 [95% CI 1.28-2.056] versus aOR 0.98 [95% CI 0.74-1.24]). Associations between parental and adolescent NMPO use did not differ by adolescent sex or race and/or ethnicity. Parental lifetime smoking, low monitoring, and parent-adolescent conflict were uniquely associated with adolescent NMPO use (aOR 1.19-1.24) as were adolescent smoking, marijuana use, depression, delinquency, and perceived schoolmates' drug use (aOR 1.25-1.71). Perceived risk of drug use and religiosity were associated with lower rates of adolescent NMPO use (aOR 0.77-0.93). Use among older adolescents was higher than among younger adolescents (aOR 1.27; 95% CI 1.21-1.34).

Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2018
Background-This study sought to specify (1) the position of nonmedical prescription opioids (NMPO... more Background-This study sought to specify (1) the position of nonmedical prescription opioids (NMPO) in drug initiation sequences among Millennials (1979-96), Generation X (1964-79), and Baby Boomers (1949-64) and (2) gender and racial/ethnic differences in sequences among Millennials. Methods-Data are from the 2013-2014 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (n = 73,026). We identified statistically significant drug initiation sequences involving alcohol/cigarettes, marijuana, NMPO, cocaine, and heroin using a novel method distinguishing significant sequences from patterns expected only due to correlations induced by common liability among drugs. Results-Alcohol/cigarettes followed by marijuana was the most common sequence. NMPO or cocaine use after marijuana, and heroin use after NMPO or cocaine, differed by generation. Among successively younger generations, NMPO after marijuana and heroin after NMPO increased. Millennials were more likely to initiate NMPO than cocaine after marijuana; Generation X and Baby Boomers were less likely (odds ratios = 1.4;0.3;0.2). Millennials were more likely than Generation X and Baby Boomers to use heroin after NMPO (hazards ratios = 7.1;3.4;2.5). In each generation, heroin users were far more likely to start heroin after both NMPO and cocaine than either alone. Sequences were similar by gender. Fewer paths were significant among African-Americans.

Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2017
Background-Prescription opioid (PO) overdose deaths increased sharply over the last decade. Chang... more Background-Prescription opioid (PO) overdose deaths increased sharply over the last decade. Changes in PO deaths in combination with other psychoactive substances may provide a partial explanation. Methods-PO deaths from the National Multiple-Cause-of-Death Files for 2002-03 (N=15,973) and 2014-15 (N=41,491) were analyzed. We calculated (1) changes in proportions of deaths in combination with benzodiazepines, antidepressants, heroin, alcohol, cocaine between the two periods, and (2) proportions of increase in deaths attributable to each substance among PO and synthetic opioids other than methadone (SO-M) deaths, by age, gender, race/ethnicity. Results-Between 2002-03 and 2014-15, PO deaths increased 2.6 times; SO-M deaths 5.6 times, especially for ages 18-34, males, African-Americans. For PO deaths, most frequent combinations at both periods were with benzodiazepines; for SO-M, benzodiazepines, antidepressants in 2002-03, heroin, benzodiazepines in 2014-15. The largest increases occurred in combination with heroin among all PO (4.6% to 15.4%, change ratio=3.3[95%CI=3.1-3.6]), but especially SO-M deaths (1.2% to 24.5%, change ratio=21.3[95%CI=15.0-30.3]). Deaths involving cocaine decreased among PO, increased among SO-M deaths. One-fifth of increased PO or SO-M deaths were attributable to any of the five substances. Increased PO deaths were equally

Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2017
Objectives-To estimate age-related patterns in nonmedical prescription opioid (NMPO) use in the U... more Objectives-To estimate age-related patterns in nonmedical prescription opioid (NMPO) use in the US population and disorder among past-year users at ages 12-34 between 2002-2014, controlling for period and birth-cohort effects. Methods-Data are from 13 consecutive cross-sectional National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (N = 542,556). Synthetic longitudinal cohorts spanning ages 12-34 were created and an age-period-cohort analysis was implemented based on the Intrinsic Estimator algorithm. Results-In every birth cohort, past-year NMPO use increases during adolescence, peaks at ages 18-21, decreases through ages 30-34; disorder among past-year users increases from ages 18-21 through 30-34. Use at ages 12-34 decreased from the 1984-87 birth cohorts to more recently-born cohorts. Peak prevalence of use at ages 18-21 has also decreased, and the rates of increase from ages 14-17 to ages 18-21 are slowing down. Disorder at ages 18-34 increased from the 1976-79 to 1992-95 cohorts, but decreased at ages 12-17 from the 1992-95 to the most recently-born 2000-02 cohorts. The years 2010-2014 were characterized by lower NMPO use but higher disorder than 2002-2009.

Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, Jan 7, 2015
To examine the prospective associations of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ... more To examine the prospective associations of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders nicotine dependence (ND) and other individual and parental factors in adolescence on self-reported health symptoms in early adulthood. Multiethnic prospective longitudinal cohort of adolescents from grades 6-10 and a parent (N = 908) from the Chicago Public Schools. Adolescents were interviewed five times at 6-month intervals (Waves 1-5) and once 4.5 years later (Wave 6). Parents were interviewed annually three times (W1, W3, W5). Multivariate regressions estimated prospective associations of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ND, other individual and familial risk factors in adolescence (mean age 16.6) on physical health symptoms in early adulthood (mean age 21.3), controlling for health symptoms in adolescence. Levels of health symptoms declined from adolescence to early adulthood, except among dependent smokers. Nicotine dependent adolescents reported more health sy...
The Plenum Series in Social/Clinical Psychology, 1994
Abstract 1. associating with delinquent peers is one of the best predictors of delinquent behavio... more Abstract 1. associating with delinquent peers is one of the best predictors of delinquent behavior in youth/present a" confluence" theory to reconcile this empirical fact with other data showing that antisocial children are disliked by peers and that antisocial children are ...

Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2014
To examine the inter-relationships between cigarette consumption and DSM-IV nicotine dependence (... more To examine the inter-relationships between cigarette consumption and DSM-IV nicotine dependence (ND) criteria from smoking onset in adolescence up to 7 years later, adjusting for alcohol consumption and DSM-IV alcohol dependence (AD) criteria. A cohort drawn from grades 6-10 in an urban school system was interviewed five times at 6-month intervals (waves 1-5) and 4.5 years later (wave 6). A parent was interviewed three times. Chicago, Illinois. Recent smokers (n = 409). Structured household interviews ascertained number of cigarettes smoked, DSM-IV ND symptoms, drinks consumed, DSM-IV AD symptoms, and selected covariates. Reciprocal prospective associations between number of cigarettes smoked and ND criteria, controlling for time-varying alcohol consumption and dependence criteria, were examined with cross-lagged models. Reciprocal associations between number of cigarettes smoked and ND criteria were both significant. Cigarette consumption had stronger associations with later ND [β ...

Neurobiology of Mental Illness, 2013
This chapter reviews the epidemiology of substance use, abuse and dependence on alcohol, nicotine... more This chapter reviews the epidemiology of substance use, abuse and dependence on alcohol, nicotine and illicit drugs in the population among adults and adolescents; comorbidity with psychiatric disorders; the importance of early onset; and animal models of the Gateway Hypothesis. Existing epidemiological studies and reports have many limitations, necessitating extensive secondary analysis of the data sets to overcome some of those limitations. Nicotine is the most addictive of the drugs and the most chronic addiction. It is the one substance for which dependence is higher among women than men. Adolescence is a period of increased risk for drug abuse and dependence among last year users. Psychiatric comorbidity with substance use disorders is high, especially for antisocial personality disorder. Animal models of the Gateway Hypothesis have uncovered basic mechanisms of nicotine action in the brain.
Public Opinion Quarterly, 2008
Extent and sources of inconsistency in self-reported cigarette smoking between self-administered ... more Extent and sources of inconsistency in self-reported cigarette smoking between self-administered school surveys and household interviews was examined in two longitudinal multiethnic adolescent samples, the urban Transition to Nicotine Dependence in Adolescence (TND) (N = 832) and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) (N = 4,414). Inconsistency was defined as a positive report of smoking in school followed by a negative report in the

Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2006
The present study examined the extent and sources of discrepancies between self-reported cigarett... more The present study examined the extent and sources of discrepancies between self-reported cigarette smoking and salivary cotinine concentration among adolescents. The data are from household interviews with a cohort of 1,024 adolescents from an urban school system. Histories of tobacco use in the last 7 days and saliva samples were obtained. Logistic regressions identified correlates of three inconsistent patterns: (a) Pattern 1-self-reported nonsmoking among adolescents with cotinine concentration above the 11.4 ng/mg cutpoint (n=176), (b) Pattern 2-low cotinine concentration (below cutpoint) among adolescents reporting having smoked within the last 3 days (n=155), and (c) Pattern 3-high cotinine concentration (above cutpoint) among adolescents reporting not having smoked within the last 3 days (n=869). Rates of inconsistency were high among smokers defined by cotinine levels or self-reports (Pattern 1=49.1%; Pattern 2=42.0%). Controlling for other covariates, we found that reports of nonsmoking among those with high cotinine (Pattern 1) were associated with younger age, having few friends smoking, little recent exposure to smokers, and being interviewed by the same interviewer as the parent and on the same day. Low cotinine concentration among self-reported smokers (Pattern 2) was negatively associated with older age, being African American, number of cigarettes smoked, depth of inhalation, and exposure to passive smoke but positively associated with less recent smoking and depressive symptoms. High cotinine concentrations among self-reported nonsmokers was positively associated with exposure to passive smoke (Pattern 3). The data are consonant with laboratory findings regarding ethnic differences in nicotine metabolism rate. The inverse relationship of cotinine concentration with depressive symptoms has not previously been reported. Depressed adolescent smokers may take in smaller doses of nicotine than nondepressed smokers; alternatively, depressed adolescents may metabolize nicotine more rapidly.

Learning and Motivation, 1985
Abstract Three-month old infants learned to kick to produce movement in an overhead crib mobile o... more Abstract Three-month old infants learned to kick to produce movement in an overhead crib mobile on a conjugate reinforcement (FRI) schedule. All infants were trained in the presence of one of two distinctive crib bumpers. In Experiment 1, infants receiving cued-recall tests in the presence of the original training bumper remembered the conditioned association 1 week later, but those tested in the presence of a different bumper did not. Two weeks later, neither training group evidenced retention of the contingency. In Experiment 2, infants who received a 3-min exposure (“a reactivation treatment”) to the original training bumper 24 h prior to the 2-week retention test exhibited excellent long-term retention, whereas those exposed to a different bumper as a reminder did not, irrepective of whether it was identical to the test bumper or not. These findings demonstrate that the context alone, even though it was never exclusively paired with reinforcement, can act as a retrieval cue.
Uploads
Papers by Pamela Griesler