Opioid control policies linked to drop in domestic violence

A new study led by the University of South Florida reveals opioid control policies may offer broader public health benefits, including reducing instances of domestic violence. As policymakers continue to grapple with the opioid epidemic, this study highlights the power of research to inform effective public policy.

The research conducted by USF doctoral student Minglu Sun and Andrei Barbos, associate professor of economics, underscores how opioid abuse can cause a powerful ripple effect across society.

Published in Health Economics, the study analyzes the impact on the prevalence of domestic violence in Mandatory Access Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs. These opioid control programs require health care providers to consult a centralized database before prescribing opioids, helping prevent patients from obtaining multiple prescriptions from multiple doctors. In the early 2010s, states began passing laws that mandated the use of these databases after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies said they were a key tool to combat misuse of opioids.

The staggered rollout of these programs across the country offered a unique opportunity to analyze their effects over time and across different regions, which allowed us to isolate the effects of these opioid control programs on the prevalence of domestic violence from other factors, such as economic cycles, concurrent policy changes or broader crime trends.”

Andrei Barbos, associate professor of economics, University of South Florida

With data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System, they compiled reports from 31 states between 2007 and 2019 to create controlled models for dynamic variables including demographics, income, unemployment, health status, insurance coverage and overlapping regulations, such as legalized marijuana.

Sun and Barbos found that these opioid control programs not only curb misuse but contributed to a 10% reduction in the prevalence of simple assaults, which account for nearly 75% of domestic violence incidents in the data. Simple assaults are generally defined as an attempt to cause physical harm to another person that does not involve a weapon or result in serious injury.

The effect was strongest in states with the highest opioid prescription rates. According to the CDC, southern states consistently exhibit higher rates – reinforcing the connection between opioid access and domestic violence.

“Earlier public health literature documented a correlation between opioid consumption and domestic violence, but correlation does not imply a causal relationship,” Barbos said. “This article establishes a causal relationship and provides policy makers with evidence of an additional positive spillover of opioid control policies, which may also be relevant for the policy design surrounding the current fentanyl crisis.”