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Indicators of vulnerability to drug or medication misuse might point to useful prevention strategies. Because purpose in life has been associated with overall longevity (JW Psychiatry Jul 2014 and Psychol Sci 2014; 25:1482), investigators longitudinally explored potential associations between purpose in life and later use of illicit drugs or misuse of prescription medications.
The researchers used two nationally representative datasets: 3535 participants in the Midlife in the United States Study (MUSS; baseline mean age, 57; 55% women; college education, 63%) who were assessed in 1995 and reassessed about 9 years later, and 551 participants from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; baseline mean age, 71; 60% women; high-school education, 54…