| Summary: | The presented study investigated prevalence rates of nonmedical use of prescription opioids (NMPO) among university students in Iceland. According to the reviewed research, administration rates of opioid medications have increased rapidly in Iceland, along with treatment admission and opioid-related death rates, prompting health officials to express concerns. For reasons reviewed, university students are an at-risk group for NMPO, the most prominent being higher rates of reported psychological distress, compared to the general population. University students (N = 1587) from three universities in Iceland participated in the online survey, responding to questions regarding demographic variables, medical and nonmedical use of prescription opioids, motives for misuse, as well as the DASS-21 (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995). Findings revealed prevalence rates of lifetime (11.7%) past year (4.9%) and past month (1.6%) NMPO, which is comparable to previous research findings. Students who reported a history of NMPO reported significantly higher rates of depression, anxiety, and stress, compared to students who reported no misuse. Contrary to expectations, female participants with a history of NMPO did not report higher levels of psychological distress compared to their male peers. Male participants were more likely to endorse motives for misuse related to social, enhancement, and coping, whereas female participants were more likely to report pain-management as a motive for misuse. This study is the first to explore NMPO within the university student population in Iceland, and is an important step towards bringing valuable information for health policy setting, as well as the development of prevention and intervention programs that target drug misuse behaviour among university students.
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