Abstract I applied Phelan et al.'s fundamental cause theory (FCT) framework to examine the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and prescription opioid use behaviors among a nationally representative sample of US adults. I also explored the mediating roles of health status and the deployment of flexible resources. Consistent with FCT, the results showed that higher SES was associated with significantly lower odds of prescription opioid use behaviors. Two flexible resources—health care access and social support—and various indicators of poor health helped explain this relationship. Inconsistent with FCT, knowledge of heroin use as being a “great risk” was not a mediator of the SES-prescription opioid use behaviors association. Based on these findings, efforts to reduce SES disparities in prescription opioid use behaviors should emphasize reducing SES disparities overall as well as in health and access to important health-enhancing resources. Limitations of this study are discussed.

中文翻译：

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社会经济地位，根本原因理论和阿片类药物处方使用行为：理论检验

摘要我应用了Phelan等人的根本原​​因理论（FCT）框架，研究了美国成年人代表性国家样本中社会经济地位（SES）与处方阿片类药物使用行为之间的关联。我还探讨了健康状况和灵活资源部署的中介作用。与FCT一致，结果表明，较高的SES与较低的处方阿片类药物使用行为几率相关。两种灵活的资源（获得医疗服务和社会支持）以及各种健康状况不佳的指标帮助解释了这种关系。与FCT不一致的是，将海洛因的使用视为“巨大风险”的知识并不是SES处方阿片类药物使用行为协会的中介。根据这些发现，减少处方阿片类药物使用行为中SES差异的努力应强调降低总体SES差异以及在健康和获取重要的增强健康资源方面的差异。讨论了这项研究的局限性。