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The Hazards of Unwinding the Prescription Opioid Epidemic: Implications for Child Maltreatment

Author

Listed:
  • Mary F. Evans
  • Matthew C. Harris
  • Lawrence M. Kessler

Abstract

Child maltreatment has significant and long-lasting consequences. We examine how two interventions designed to curtail prescription opioid misuse, the reformulation of OxyContin and the implementation of must-access prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs), affected child maltreatment. Our results suggest counties with greater initial rates of prescription opioid usage experienced relatively larger increases in child physical abuse and neglect after OxyContin's reformulation. We also find some evidence of increases in alleged physical abuse and neglect due to must-access PDMP implementation. Our results uncover unintended consequences for children of reducing the supply of an addictive good without adequate support for dependent users.

Suggested Citation

  • Mary F. Evans & Matthew C. Harris & Lawrence M. Kessler, 2022. "The Hazards of Unwinding the Prescription Opioid Epidemic: Implications for Child Maltreatment," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 14(4), pages 192-231, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejpol:v:14:y:2022:i:4:p:192-231
    DOI: 10.1257/pol.20200301
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Adamopoulou, Effrosyni & Greenwood, Jeremy & Guner, Nezih & Kopecky, Karen, 2024. "The Role of Friends in the Opioid Epidemic," CEPR Discussion Papers 18803, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Bradford, Ashley C. & Fu, Wei & You, Shijun, 2024. "The devastating dance between opioid and housing crises: Evidence from OxyContin reformulation," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    3. Lyu, Ke & Fossen, Frank M., 2025. "How Do Minimum Wages Affect Nonemployer Businesses in the United States?," IZA Discussion Papers 18101, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Mir M. Ali & Thanh Lu & Johanna Catherine Maclean & Angélica Meinhofer, 2024. "Mental Health, Substance Use, and Child Maltreatment," NBER Working Papers 32895, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Frank M. Fossen & Mobarak Hossain & Sankar Mukhopadhyay & Peter Toth, 2025. "The cost of health insurance and entry into entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 64(2), pages 383-405, February.
    6. Sim, Yongbo, 2023. "The effect of opioids on crime: Evidence from the introduction of OxyContin," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    7. Sujeong Park, 2025. "The Growth of Illicit Drug Use and Its Effects on Murder Rates," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(3), pages 456-471, March.
    8. Andrei Barbos & Minglu Sun, 2025. "Opioid Control Policies Can Also Reduce Domestic Violence," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(7), pages 1295-1308, July.
    9. Dhaval Dave & Bilge Erten & David Hummel & Pinar Keskin & Shuo Zhang, 2025. "Fighting abuse with prescription tracking: mandatory drug monitoring and intimate partner violence," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 38(3), pages 1-27, September.
    10. Buckles, Kasey & Evans, William N. & Lieber, Ethan M.J., 2023. "The drug crisis and the living arrangements of children," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    11. DiNardi, Michael, 2025. "The Reformulation of OxyContin and Availability of Substance Use Treatment Facilities in the United States," MPRA Paper 124502, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Piette Durrance, Christine & Wang, Yang & Wolfe, Barbara, 2025. "Abortion access and child protective services involvement," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    13. Petrusevich, Margarita, 2024. "The effects of alcohol sale bans on children: The case of Russia," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    14. Cynthia Bansak & Jun Hyung Kim, 2024. "Medical marijuana legalization and parenting behaviors: An analysis of the time use of parents," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(7), pages 1245-1259, November.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • K32 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Energy, Environmental, Health, and Safety Law
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • L65 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - Chemicals; Rubber; Drugs; Biotechnology; Plastics

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