Interpersonal Violence and Mental Health, Drug use, and Treatment Utilization among Patients with Co-Occurring Opioid use and Mental Health Disorders

Interpersonal violence is a common type of trauma experienced by people with opioid use disorder (OUD), especially for people with co-occurring OUD and mental illness (COD). However, little is known about demographic and clinical characteristics of individuals with COD who have experienced an interpersonal violence traumatic event compared to those who have experienced a non-violent trauma, and how experiences of interpersonal violence are associated with treatment utilization. Data presented are from a randomized clinical trial testing collaborative care for COD in primary care. Of the 797 patients enrolled in the larger study, 733 (92%) were included in this analysis because they reported a traumatic event. In this sample, 301 (41%) participants experienced a traumatic event involving interpersonal violence. Participants who experienced interpersonal violence were more likely to be younger and female. Among the 301 people who experienced interpersonal violence, 30% experienced child sexual abuse, 23% experienced physical violence, 19% experienced domestic violence, and 28% experienced sexual assault. Those who experienced physical violence were significantly less likely to be female (28.6% vs 74.2% to 88.2% in other groups). Those who reported domestic violence had significantly fewer days of drug use (4.1 days vs 9.0 to 11.5 in the other groups) and lower opioid use severity scores (mean = 13.0 vs 16.6 to 19.5 in the other groups). Multivariable regression results examining the associations between interpersonal violence experiences on treatment utilization revealed no statistically significant differences. Rates of receipt were high for medication for opioid use disorder (∼80%) in this sample while rates of mental health counseling were around 35% and rates of receiving mental health medication around 48%. These findings make an important contribution to understanding the associations between patient characteristics and traumatic experiences, and receipt of treatment for OUD and mental health problems among a sample of patients with COD. Clinical trial registration clinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT04559893