Worker Substance Use and Workplace Policies and Programs

Appendix C: Key Definitions, 2002-2004

This appendix provides definitions for many of the measures and terms used in this report on the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Where relevant, cross-references also are provided. For some key terms, specific question wording, including "feeder questions" that precede the question(s), is provided for clarity.

Abuse

A respondent was defined with abuse of a substance if he or she met one or more of the four criteria for abuse included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 1994) and did not meet the definition for dependence for that substance. Additional criteria for alcohol and marijuana abuse are that if respondents reported a specific number of days that they used these drugs in the past 12 months, they must have used these drugs on 6 or more days in that period. These questions have been included in the survey since 2000.

SEE: "Prevalence."

Age

Age of the respondent was defined as "age at time of interview." The interview program calculated the respondent's age from the date of birth and interview date. The interview program prompts the interviewer to confirm the respondent's age after it has been calculated.

Alcohol Use

Measures of use of alcohol in the respondent's lifetime, the past year, and the past month were developed from responses to the question about recency of use: "How long has it been since you last drank an alcoholic beverage?"

Feeder question: "The next questions are about alcoholic beverages, such as, beer, wine, brandy, and mixed drinks. Listed on the next screen are examples of the types of beverages we are interested in. Please review this list carefully before you answer these questions. These questions are about drinks of alcoholic beverages. Throughout these questions, by a 'drink,' we mean a can or bottle of beer, a glass of wine or a wine cooler, a shot of liquor, or a mixed drink with liquor in it. We are not asking about times when you only had a sip or two from a drink. Have you ever, even once, had a drink of an alcoholic beverage? Please do not include times when you only had a sip or two from a drink."

SEE: "Binge Use of Alcohol," "Current Use," "Heavy Use of Alcohol," "Lifetime Use," "Past Month Use," "Past Year Use," "Prevalence," and "Recency of Use."

American Indian or Alaska Native

American Indian or Alaska Native only, not of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin (including North American, Central American, or South American Indian); does not include respondents reporting two or more races. (Respondents reporting that they were American Indians or Alaska Natives and of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin were classified as Hispanic.)

SEE: "Hispanic" and "Race/Ethnicity."

Asian

Asian only, not of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin; does not include respondents reporting two or more races. (Respondents reporting that they were Asian and of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin were classified as Hispanic.) Specific Asian groups that were asked about were Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and "Other Asian."

SEE: "Hispanic" and "Race/Ethnicity."

Black

Black/African American only, not of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin; does not include respondents reporting two or more races. (Respondents reporting that they were black or African American and of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin were classified as Hispanic.)

SEE: "Hispanic" and "Race/Ethnicity."

College Enrollment Status

Respondents aged 18 to 22 were classified as full-time undergraduate students or as some other status (including part-time students, students in other grades, or nonstudents). Respondents were classified as full-time students if they reported that they were attending (or will be attending) their first through fourth year of college or university and that they were (or will be) a full-time student. Respondents whose current enrollment status was unknown were excluded from the analysis.

County Type

Geographic comparisons also are made based on urban influence county type, which reflects different levels of population size, urbanization, and access to larger communities based on county-level Urban Influence Codes (UIC) created by the Economic Research Service (ERS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The codes group metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties according to the official county-level metro status issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in June 2003 (OMB, 2003). Each county is either inside or outside a metropolitan statistical area (MSA), as defined by the OMB. The definitions of urban influence county type are different than county-type definitions used in other NSDUH reports. The definitions for this report are based on UIC, whereas the 2004 national findings (OAS, 2005) definitions are based on Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC).

Large MSAs have a population of 1 million or more. Small MSAs have a population of fewer than 1 million. Nonmetropolitan areas are areas outside MSAs that have been categorized into four groups based on UIC. The first group consists of micropolitan statistical areas (MiSAs), which include a county with an urban cluster of at least 10,000 persons or more and any additional counties where commuting to the central county is 25 percent or higher, or where 25 percent of the employment in an outlying county is made up of commuters from the central county. The remaining three groups of nonmetropolitan areas consist of noncore counties and are divided based on their adjacency to larger areas and whether or not they have their "own town" of at least 2,500 residents. The "noncore adjacent with town" group includes those areas that are adjacent to a large MSA, adjacent to a small MSA and have their own town, or adjacent to a MiSA and have their own town. Noncore areas that have no town of their own but are adjacent to a small MSA or MiSA compose the "noncore adjacent, no town" group. The "noncore rural, not adjacent" group consists of counties that are not adjacent to any MSA or MiSA and have no town of their own.

Current Use

Any reported use of a specific drug in the past 30 days.

SEE: "Lifetime Use," "Past Month Use," "Past Year Use," "Prevalence," and "Recency of Use."

Dependence

A respondent was defined with dependence on illicit drugs or alcohol if he or she met three out of seven dependence criteria (for substances that included questions to measure a withdrawal criterion) or three out of six criteria (for substances that did not include withdrawal questions) for that substance, based on criteria included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) (APA, 1994). Additional criteria for alcohol and marijuana dependence since 2000 are that if respondents reported a specific number of days that they used these drugs in the past 12 months, they must have used these drugs on 6 or more days in that period. This definition did not apply to Nicotine (Cigarette) Dependence.

SEE: "Prevalence."

Education

This is the measure of educational attainment among respondents who are aged 18 or older. It is based on respondents' reports of their highest grade or year of school that they completed. Response alternatives were presented in terms of single years of education, ranging from 0 if respondents never attended school to 17 if respondents completed 5 or more years at the college or university level. Respondents were classified into four categories based on their answers: less than high school, high school graduate, some college, and college graduate. Persons who completed postgraduate work were classified as college graduates.

Employment

Respondents were asked to report whether they worked in the week prior to the interview, and if not, whether they had a job despite not working in the past week. Respondents who worked in the past week or who reported having a job despite not working were asked whether they usually work 35 or more hours per week. Respondents who did not work in the past week but had a job were asked to look at a card that described why they did not work in the past week despite having a job. Respondents who did not have a job in the past week were asked to look at a different card that described why they did not have a job in the past week.

Full-time

"Full-time" in the tables includes respondents who usually work 35 or more hours per week and who worked in the past week or had a job despite not working in the past week.

Part-time

"Part-time" in the tables includes respondents who usually work fewer than 35 hours per week and who worked in the past week or had a job despite not working in the past week.

Unemployed

"Unemployed" in the tables refers to respondents who did not have a job, were on layoff, and were looking for work. For consistency with the Current Population Survey definition of unemployment, respondents who reported that they did not have a job but were looking for work needed to report making specific efforts to find work in the past 30 days.

Other

"Other" includes all other responses, including being a student, someone who is keeping house or caring for children full time, retired, disabled, or other miscellaneous work statuses. Respondents who reported that they did not have a job, were on layoff, and were not looking for work were classified as not being in the labor force. Similarly, respondents who reported not having a job and looking for work also were classified as not being in the labor force if they did not report making specific efforts to find work in the past 30 days.

Establishment Size

Data are presented for the number of persons who work for an employer and include less than 10 employees, 10 to 24 employees, 25 to 99 employees, 100 to 499 employees, and 500 or more employees.

Ethnicity

SEE: "Race/Ethnicity."

Ever Use

SEE: "Lifetime Use."

Family Income

Family income was ascertained by asking respondents: "Of these income groups, which category best represents (your/SAMPLE MEMBER's) total combined family income during [the previous calendar year]? (Income data are important in analyzing the health information we collect. For example, the information helps us to learn whether persons in one income group use certain types of medical care services or have conditions more or less often than those in another group.)"

NOTE: For respondents who were unable to respond to the insurance or income questions, proxy responses were accepted from a household member identified as being better able to give the correct information about insurance and income.

Geographic Division

Data are presented for nine geographic divisions within the four geographic regions. Within the Northeast Region are the New England Division (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont) and the Middle Atlantic Division (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania). Within the Midwest Region are the East North Central Division (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin) and the West North Central Division (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota). Within the South Region are the South Atlantic Division (Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia), the East South Central Division (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee), and the West South Central Division (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas). Within the West Region are the Mountain Division (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming) and the Pacific Division (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington).

SEE: "Region."

Heavy Use of Alcohol

Heavy use of alcohol was defined as drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion (i.e., at the same time or within a couple of hours of each other) on 5 or more days in the past 30 days. Heavy alcohol users also were defined as binge users of alcohol.

Feeder question: "How long has it been since you last drank an alcoholic beverage?"

SEE: "Alcohol Use" and "Binge Use of Alcohol."

Hispanic

Hispanic was defined as anyone of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin. Respondents were classified as Hispanic in the race/ethnicity measure regardless of race.

SEE: "American Indian or Alaska Native," "Asian," "Black," "Race/Ethnicity," "Two or More Races," and "White."

Illicit Drugs

Illicit drugs include marijuana or hashish, cocaine (including crack), inhalants, hallucinogens (including phencyclidine [PCP], lysergic acid diethylamide [LSD], and Ecstasy [MDMA]), heroin, or prescription-type psychotherapeutics used nonmedically, which include stimulants, sedatives, tranquilizers, and pain relievers. Illicit drug use refers to use of any of these drugs.

SEE: "Current Use," "Lifetime Use," "Past Month Use," "Past Year Use," "Prevalence," "Psychotherapeutic Drugs," and "Recency of Use."

Income

SEE: "Family Income."

Industry

Data are provided for the business or industry in which a person currently works. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is used to classify industries in the report. The NAICS replaced the Standard Industry Classification (SIC) and categorizes all industries into 19 major groups. Industries are organized within the NAICS by the processes used to produce goods or services. This report focuses on these major groups, but a more detailed analysis of industry classifications can be found in Appendix D.

Large MSA

SEE: "County Type."

Lifetime Use

Lifetime use indicates use of a specific drug at least once in the respondent's lifetime. This measure includes respondents who also reported last using the drug in the past 30 days or past 12 months.

SEE: "Current Use," "Past Month Use," "Past Year Use," "Prevalence," and "Recency of Use."

Low Precision

Prevalence estimates based on only a few respondents or with relatively large standard errors were not shown in the tables, but have been replaced with an asterisk (*) and noted as "low precision." These estimates have been omitted because one cannot place a high degree of confidence in their accuracy. See Table  B.1 in Appendix B for a complete list of the rules used to determine low precision.

Marijuana Use

Measures of use of marijuana in the respondent's lifetime, the past year, and the past month were developed from responses to the question about recency of use: "How long has it been since you last used marijuana or hashish?" Responses to questions about use of cigars with marijuana in them (blunts) were not included in these measures.

Feeder question: "The next questions are about marijuana and hashish. Marijuana is also called pot or grass. Marijuana is usually smoked—either in cigarettes called joints, or in a pipe. It is sometimes cooked in food. Hashish is a form of marijuana that is also called hash. It is usually smoked in a pipe. Another form of hashish is hash oil. Have you ever, even once, used marijuana or hash?"

SEE: "Current Use," "Lifetime Use," "Past Month Use," "Past Year Use," "Prevalence," and "Recency of Use."

Midwest Region

The States included are those in the East North Central Division—Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin—and the West North Central Division—Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

SEE: "Geographic Division" and "Region."

MiSA

SEE: "County Type."

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, not of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin; does not include respondents reporting two or more races. (Respondents reporting that they were Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander and of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin were classified as Hispanic.)

SEE: "Hispanic" and "Race/Ethnicity."

Nonmetro

SEE: "County Type."

Northeast Region

The States included are those in the New England Division—Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont—and the Middle Atlantic Division—New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

SEE: "Geographic Division" and "Region."

Occupation

Data are provided for the kind of work or occupation in which a person currently works. The occupations are coded into groups using the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) released by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, which categorizes all occupations into 21 major groups. Within these major groups are 96 minor groups, 449 broad occupations, and 821 detailed occupations. Occupations with similar skills or work activities are grouped at each of the four levels of hierarchy to facilitate comparisons. This report focuses on these major groups, but a more detailed analysis of occupational classifications can be found in the Appendix D.

Past Month Use

This measure indicates use of a specific drug in the 30 days prior to the interview. Respondents who indicated past month use of a specific drug also were classified as lifetime and past year users.

SEE: "Current Use," "Lifetime Use," "Past Year Use," "Prevalence," and "Recency of Use."

Past Year Use

This measure indicates use of a specific drug in the 12 months prior to the interview. This definition includes those respondents who last used the drug in the 30 days prior to the interview. Respondents who indicated past year use of a specific drug also were classified as lifetime users.

SEE: "Current Use," "Lifetime Use," "Past Month Use," "Prevalence," and "Recency of Use."

Percentages

In this report, all of the 2004 tables contain percentages based on weighted data.

SEE: "Rounding."

Prevalence

General term used to describe the estimates for lifetime, past year, and past month substance use, dependence or abuse, or other behaviors of interest within a given period (e.g., the past 12 months). The latter include delinquent behavior, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, perceived help from treatment for mental health problems, perceived need for alcohol or illicit drug use treatment, serious psychological distress, treatment for mental health problems, treatment for a substance use problem, and unmet need for treatment for mental health problems.

SEE: "Abuse," "Current Use," "Dependence," and "Recency of Use."

Race/Ethnicity

Race/ethnicity is used to refer to the respondent's self-classification as to racial and ethnic origin and identification. For Hispanic origin, respondents were asked, "Are you of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin or descent?" For race, respondents were asked, "Which of these groups best describes you?" Response alternatives were (1) white, (2) black/African American, (3) American Indian or Alaska Native, (4) Native Hawaiian, (5) Other Pacific Islander, (6) Asian, and (7) Other. Categories for race/ethnicity included Hispanic; non-Hispanic groups where respondents indicated only one race (white, black, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Asian); and non-Hispanic groups where respondents reported two or more races. These categories are based on classifications developed by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

SEE: "American Indian or Alaska Native," "Asian," "Black," "Hispanic," "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander," "Two or More Races," and "White."

Recency of Use

The recency question for each drug was the source for the lifetime, past year, and past month prevalence estimates.

The question was essentially the same for all classes of drugs. The question was: "How long has it been since you last used [drug name]?" For the four classes of psychotherapeutics, the phrase "that was not prescribed for you or only for the experience or feeling it caused" was added after the name of the drug.

For tobacco products (cigarettes, snuff, chewing tobacco, or cigars), the response alternatives were (1) within the past 30 days; (2) more than 30 days ago but within the past 12 months; (3) more than 12 months ago but within the past 3 years; and (4) more than 3 years ago. For the remaining drugs, the response alternatives were (1) within the past 30 days; (2) more than 30 days ago but within the past 12 months; and (3) more than 12 months ago.

SEE: "Current Use," "Lifetime Use," "Past Month Use," "Past Year Use," and "Prevalence."

Region

There were four regions to consider: Northeast, Midwest, South, and West. These regions are based on classifications developed by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

SEE: "Geographic Division," "Midwest Region," "Northeast Region," "South Region," and "West Region."

Rounding

The decision rules for the rounding of percentages were as follows. If the second number to the right of the decimal point was greater than or equal to 5, the first number to the right of the decimal point was rounded up to the next higher number. If the second number to the right of the decimal point was less than 5, the first number to the right of the decimal point remained the same. Thus, a prevalence estimate of 16.55 percent would be rounded to 16.6 percent, while an estimate of 16.44 percent would be rounded to 16.4 percent. Although the percentages in the 2004 tables generally total 100 percent, the use of rounding sometimes produces a total of slightly less than or more than 100 percent.

SEE: "Percentages."

Significance

In tables in which trends are shown, the levels of significance for the changes between the two most recent survey years are noted as follows: 0.05 and 0.01. A significance level of 0.05 is used in comparing two estimates in the text for demographic subgroups of the most recent survey sample.

Small MSA

SEE: "County Type."

South Region

The States included are those in the South Atlantic Division— Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; the East South Central Division—Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; and the West South Central Division—Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.

SEE: "Geographic Division" and "Region."

Two or More Races

Respondents were asked to report which racial group describes them. Response alternatives were (1) white, (2) black/African American, (3) American Indian or Alaska Native, (4) Native Hawaiian, (5) Other Pacific Islander, (6) Asian, and (7) Other. Respondents were allowed to choose more than one of these groups. Persons who chose both the "Native Hawaiian" and "Other Pacific Islander" categories (and no additional categories) were classified in a single category: Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. Otherwise, persons reporting two or more of the above groups and that they were not of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin were included in a "Two or More Races" category. This category does not include respondents who reported more than one Asian subgroup but who reported "Asian" as their only race. Respondents reporting two or more races and reporting that they were of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin were classified as Hispanic.

SEE: "Hispanic" and "Race/Ethnicity."

West Region

The States included are those in the Mountain Division—Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and the Pacific Division—Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

SEE: "Geographic Division" and "Region."

White

White, not of Hispanic, Spanish, or Latino origin; does not include respondents reporting two or more races. (Respondents reporting that they were white and of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin were classified as Hispanic.)

SEE: "Hispanic" and "Race/Ethnicity."

Workplace Testing

Respondents were asked if they would be more likely or less likely to want to work for an employer who tests for drug or alcohol use before hiring or on a random basis.

This page was last updated on June 19, 2008.

SAMHSA, an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services, is the Federal Government's lead agency for improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment, and mental health services in the United States.