Social Position and Opioid Crisis Information: Patterns of Active Seeking and Passive Exposure Among US Adults

Research suggests associations between public understanding and support for evidence-based responses to the ongoing opioid crisis, yet communication inequality theory indicates that social position may systematically influence access to health information. This study examines demographic correlates of both active information seeking and passive information exposure across multiple channels, analyzing a nationally representative sample of 6,543 US adults. The findings advance communication inequality theory by revealing distinct information pathways: lower educational attainment was associated with actively seeking information on television, while higher attainment correlated with web searches. Political affiliations aligned with distinct media ecosystems, and racial identity corresponded with significantly different rates of passive exposure from sources like healthcare professionals and television. These patterns, along with higher information seeking from personal and medical networks among those with a family or personal history of opioid use, suggest that social groups inhabit fundamentally different information realities, potentially contributing to divergent understandings of the crisis. These findings highlight the need to design communication strategies that account for how social position shapes information pathways. Future research should examine whether exposure through these channels relates to public understanding and policy support.