Prescription opioid use among university students: assessment of post-cue exposure craving

Despite the increasing number of prescriptions written to adolescents and young adults for opioid analgesics, the rise in non-medical use of such drugs among university students, and the potential role of craving in the misuse of opioids, there have been no published studies assessing craving for prescription opioids in this population. Therefore, the current study was designed to assess the impact of prescription opioid-related cue exposure on craving in university students. Students (n=277) recruited from a large university in the Midwestern United States were randomly assigned to two conditions to test the impact of cue exposure to either prescription opioid-related stimuli or control stimuli. Relative to the control condition, prescription opioid-related cue exposure significantly increased overall craving, desire and intention to use prescription opioids, relief from negative states by using prescription opioids, and perceived control over prescription opioid use. In addition, when assessing correlates of post-cue exposure craving, negative mood and procurement of prescription opioids from non-medical sources were the only measured variables that were significantly associated with overall craving and/or any of the craving measure's subscales. Craving may be important aspect of prescription opioid use among university students. Future research assessing craving as a function of non-medical user subtype is warranted.