October 25, 2007 |
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Marital status can be a predictor for substance abuse and the course of its treatment. In particular, married persons may have fewer substance abuse problems than unmarried persons, show better courses of treatment when they do require it, and relapse less often to substance abuse after treatment.1,2,3 For example, data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) show that persons who were married at the time of the survey had a lower rate of substance dependence or abuse than persons who were not married.4 Other studies have shown that for those who abuse substances, being married can be a predictor of starting substance abuse treatment, spending more hours in treatment, and staying in treatment.5 In contrast, being unmarried can be a predictor of higher relapse into substance abuse after treatment.6
Relationships between marital status and substance abuse treatment admissions can be monitored with the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), an annual compilation of data on the demographic characteristics and substance abuse problems of those admitted to substance abuse treatment, primarily at facilities that receive some public funding.7 TEDS records represent admissions rather than individuals, as a person may be admitted to treatment more than once during a single year.
TEDS includes a Minimum Data Set collected by all States and Supplemental Data Set items collected by some States. “Marital Status,” a Supplemental Data Set item, was reported for at least 75 percent of all substance abuse treatment admissions in 41 States and jurisdictions in 2005.8 These 41 States and jurisdictions accounted for 67 percent of all substance abuse treatment admissions in 2005. However, since marital status is associated with age, the analysis in this report is restricted to admissions between 25 and 44 years of age. In these 41 States and jurisdictions, there were approximately 631,700 admissions aged 25 to 44 whose marital status was known (34 percent of all admissions to TEDS).
For purposes of this report, marital status was divided into three categories: never married, formerly married (i.e., divorced, separated, and widowed), and currently married.
Marriage was much less common among 2005 substance abuse treatment admissions between 25 and 44 years of age than in the general U.S. population. In the Nation as a whole, data from the 2000 Census9 for this age range show that 25 percent had never married, 14 percent were formerly married, and 61 percent were currently married. By contrast, over half (52 percent) of 2005 substance abuse treatment admissions aged 25 to 44 had never married, 28 percent were formerly married, and only 20 percent were currently married.
In 2005, substance abuse treatment admissions aged 25 to 44 who had never married were more likely to have reported opiates as the primary substance of abuse10 than were formerly or currently married admissions (23 percent vs. 14 and 16 percent) (Figure 1). While alcohol was the most commonly reported substance of abuse among all marital status groups, currently and formerly married admissions were more likely to report this substance than never married ones (44 and 43 percent vs. 37 percent).
Marital status groups also displayed different patterns in their frequencies of substance use: admissions who had never married were more likely than those who were formerly or currently married to report daily use of the primary substance (44 percent vs. 39 and 36 percent) (Figure 2).
Source: 2005 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). |
Substance | Never Married | Formerly Married | Currently Married |
---|---|---|---|
Alcohol | 37% | 43% | 44% |
Opiates | 23% | 14% | 16% |
Cocaine | 19% | 19% | 16% |
Marijuana | 11% | 8% | 10% |
Stimulants | 7% | 13% | 10% |
Other | 3% | 3% | 4% |
Source: 2005 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). |
Source: 2005 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). |
Frequency | Never Married | Formerly Married | Currently Married |
---|---|---|---|
Daily | 44% | 39% | 36% |
3 to 6 Times in Past Week | 12% | 12% | 12% |
1 to 2 Times in Past Week | 9% | 9% | 10% |
1 to 3 Times in Past Month | 10% | 11% | 13% |
No Use in Past Month | 25% | 29% | 29% |
Source: 2005 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). |
Substance abuse treatment admissions who had never married were more likely to have extensive treatment histories and less likely to be entering treatment for the first time than other admissions aged 25 to 44 in 2005. Substance abuse treatment admissions aged 25 to 44 who had never married were more likely than those who were formerly or currently married to have reported five or more prior substance abuse treatment episodes (14 percent vs. 11 and 7 percent) (Figure 3). Correspondingly, never married admissions (and formerly married ones) were less likely than currently married admissions to report no prior substance abuse treatment episodes (40 and 43 percent vs. 50 percent).
Source: 2005 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). |
Prior Treatment Episodes | Never Married | Formerly Married | Currently Married |
---|---|---|---|
No Prior Treatment | 40% | 43% | 50% |
1 Prior Treatment Episode | 22% | 22% | 23% |
2 to 4 Prior Treatment Episodes | 24% | 24% | 20% |
5 or More Treatment Episodes | 14% | 11% | 7% |
Source: 2005 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). |
In 2005, substance abuse treatment admissions aged 25 to 44 who had never married were more likely to receive detoxification services than those who were formerly or currently married (24 percent vs. 20 and 17 percent).11 In addition, never and formerly married substance abuse treatment admissions aged 25 to 44 were less likely to have received treatment in an ambulatory service setting than currently married admissions (59 and 61 percent vs. 68 percent). However, there was little difference between the proportions of never, formerly, and currently married admissions receiving residential/rehabilitative treatment services (17, 19, and 15 percent, respectively).
Unmarried substance abuse treatment admissions aged 25 to 44 had different employment patterns than their married counterparts in 2005. Only 22 percent of admissions who had never married (and 23 percent of formerly married ones) reported full-time employment compared to 37 percent of admissions who were currently married (Figure 4). Unmarried substance abuse treatment admissions aged 25 to 44 were also more likely to be unemployed or not in the labor force than currently married admissions.
Source: 2005 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). |
Employment Status | Never Married | Formerly Married | Currently Married |
---|---|---|---|
Full Time | 22% | 23% | 37% |
Part Time | 7% | 7% | 7% |
Unemployed | 40% | 40% | 31% |
Not in Labor Force | 31% | 30% | 25% |
Source: 2005 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). |
1 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. (October 29, 2004). The NSDUH report: Gender differences in substance dependence and abuse. Rockville, MD. The finding was for persons 18 to 49 years of age.
2 Green, C. A., Polen, M. R., Dickinson, D. M., Lynch, F. L., & Bennett, M. D. (2002). Gender differences in predictors of initiation, retention, and completion in an HMO-based substance abuse treatment program. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 23, 285-295.
3 Grella, C. E., Hser, Y. I., & Hsieh, S. C. (2003). Predictors of drug treatment re-entry following relapse to cocaine use in DATOS. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 25(3), 145-154. The finding was for “previously married” abusers who relapsed within 5 years of their index treatment.
4 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, op cit.
5 Green et al., op cit.
6 Grella, Hser, & Hsieh, op cit.
7 In 2005, TEDS collected data on 1.8 million admissions to substance abuse treatment facilities. Four States and jurisdictions (AK, DC, NM, and WY) did not submit data for 2005.
8 The 41 States or jurisdictions are AL, AR, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, PR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, WA, and WV.
9 U.S. Census Bureau. (2001). Marital status of people 15 years and over, by age, sex, personal earnings, race, and Hispanic origin, March 2000. Retrieved May 18, 2007, from http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam/p20-537_00.html
10 The primary substance of abuse is the main substance reported at the time of admission.
11 Service settings are of three types: ambulatory, residential/rehabilitative, and detoxification. Ambulatory settings include intensive outpatient, non-intensive outpatient, and ambulatory detoxification. Residential/rehabilitative settings include hospital (other than detoxification), short-term (30 days or fewer), and long-term (more than 30 days). Detoxification includes 24-hour hospital inpatient and 24-hour free-standing residential.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. (October 25, 2007). The DASIS Report: Marital Status and Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions: 2005. Rockville, MD.
The Drug and
Alcohol Services Information System (DASIS) is an integrated data
system maintained by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). One component of DASIS
is the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). TEDS is a compilation of data
on the demographic characteristics and substance abuse problems of
those admitted for substance abuse treatment. The information comes
primarily from facilities that receive some public funding. Information
on treatment admissions is routinely collected by State administrative
systems and then submitted to SAMHSA in a standard format. TEDS records
represent admissions rather than individuals, as a person may be
admitted to treatment more than once. State admission data are reported
to TEDS by the Single State Agencies (SSAs) for substance abuse
treatment. There are significant differences among State data
collection systems. Sources of State variation include completeness of
reporting, facilities reporting TEDS data, clients included, and
treatment resources available. See the annual TEDS reports for details.
Approximately 1.8 million records are included in TEDS each year. The DASIS Report is prepared by the Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA; Synectics for Management Decisions, Inc., Arlington, Virginia; and by RTI International in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina (RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute). Information and data for this issue are based on data reported to TEDS through October 3, 2006. Access the latest TEDS reports
at: |
The DASIS Report is published periodically by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission from SAMHSA. Additional copies of this report or other reports from the Office of Applied Studies are available online: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov. Citation of the source is appreciated. For questions about this report please e-mail: shortreports@samhsa.hhs.gov |
This page was last updated on December 30, 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.
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