The discounting of death: Probability discounting of heroin use by fatal overdose likelihood and drug purity.

ABSTRACT: As fatal overdoses from synthetic opioids continue to rise, we need to understand decision-making processes underlying heroin and synthetic opioid use. This study evaluated the influence of sample impurity and fatal overdose risk on hypothetical heroin use. Individuals who currently use heroin (n = 69) were recruited online. Participants completed two probability-discounting tasks evaluating the likelihood of using a sample of heroin based on the likelihood of sample impurity and likelihood of fatal overdose, where greater discounting represented reduced use likelihood. Prior to completing the probability-discounting tasks, participants were randomized to read one of four prompts varying by the presence of information on heroin effects and active (e.g., fentanyl) or inert impurities. Influ

SUBMITTER: Dolan SB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8524386 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature