Population Health Research Brief Series

Abstract

The impacts of the contemporary U.S. drug overdose crisis on child and family well-being have been profound. This brief describes the link between county-level opioid overdose rates and children’s test scores, finding that counties with higher overdose rates have lower average 3^rd and 8th-grade test scores than counties with lower overdose rates. The relationship between higher overdose rates and lower test scores is particularly strong in rural counties. The places with the highest overdose rates and lowest test scores tend to be economically disadvantaged, suggesting that economic investments may be needed to address the issue.