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Issue 3 | 2006 |
In Brief |
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The transition from adolescence to adulthood is a time when individuals assume new social roles and form new identities that provide the foundations for later life. It is also a time of great risk for substance use and mental health problems. Research has shown that substance use and mental health problems tend to be highest among persons in their late adolescent and young adult years, with substance use generally being higher among males and mental health problems generally being higher among females.1
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) includes questions to assess serious psychological distress (SPD) and substance use. SPD is an overall indicator of nonspecific psychological distress. NSDUH measures past year SPD using the K6 distress questions.2,3 The K6 questions measure symptoms of psychological distress during the 1 month in the past 12 months when respondents were at their worst emotionally.
NSDUH asks persons aged 12 or older about their use of illicit drugs and alcohol, including binge and heavy alcohol use, in the past month. Binge alcohol use is 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 at least 1 day in the past 30 days. Heavy alcohol use is defined as drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion on each of 5 or more days in the past 30 days; all heavy alcohol users are also binge alcohol users. NSDUH defines any illicit drug as marijuana/hashish, cocaine (including crack), inhalants, hallucinogens, heroin, or prescription-type drugs used nonmedically.4
This report examines SPD and substance use among young adult males aged 18 to 25, a relatively understudied group with respect to mental health issues. All findings are annual averages based on combined 2002, 2003, and 2004 NSDUH data.
Figure 1. Percentages of Males Aged 18 to 25 Who Experienced Past Year SPD, by Marital Status: 2002, 2003, and 2004 | Figure 2. Percentages of Males Aged 18 to 25 Who Reported Heavy Alcohol Use, Binge Alcohol Use, and Illicit Drugs in the Past Month, by Race/Ethnicity: 2002, 2003, and 2004 |
An estimated 10.3 percent of males aged 18 to 25 (1.6 million persons) experienced SPD during the past year. Males aged 18 to 22 were more likely to have had past year SPD than males aged 23 to 25 (10.8 vs. 9.3 percent). Males aged 18 to 25 who were divorced or separated were more likely to have experienced SPD than their counterparts who were married or never married (Figure 1).5 There were no statistically significant differences in the rate of past year SPD across racial/ethnic groups.
For males aged 18 to 22, the prevalence of SPD among those who were full-time college students was 9.4 percent; the prevalence was 14.3 percent among those who were part-time students, and 11.6 percent among those not enrolled in college.6
Figure 3. Percentages of Males Aged 18 to 25 Reporting Heavy Alcohol Use, Binge Alcohol Use, and Illicit Drug Use in the Past Month, by Past Year SPD: 2002, 2003, and 2004 |
In the month prior to the interview, an estimated 21.4 percent of males aged 18 to 25 met the criteria for heavy alcohol use, 50.6 percent engaged in binge alcohol use, and 23.5 percent had used an illicit drug. Males aged 23 to 25 were more likely to have engaged in binge drinking in the past month than males aged 18 to 22 (53.6 vs. 49.0 percent), while males aged 18 to 22 were more likely to have used an illicit drug than those aged 23 to 25 (25.1 vs. 20.5 percent). American Indians/Alaska Natives had the highest rate of past month illicit drug use, whereas whites had the highest rates of heavy alcohol use and binge alcohol use (Figure 2). Males aged 18 to 25 who were married had lower rates of past month heavy alcohol use, binge alcohol use, and illicit drug use (12.4, 42.2, and 12.4 percent, respectively) than their peers who were divorced or separated (17.4, 53.0, and 20.6 percent) and those who had never married (22.6, 51.5, and 24.9 percent).
Among males aged 18 to 22, full-time college students were less likely to have used an illicit drug in the past month than those who were not attending college (23.6 vs. 26.7 percent); however, full-time college students were more likely to have engaged in heavy alcohol use in the past month than those attending college part-time or those who were not attending college (25.9 percent vs. 17.3 and 20.9 percent, respectively).
Males aged 18 to 25 with past year SPD had higher rates of heavy alcohol use, binge alcohol use, and illicit drug use in the past month than those without past year SPD (Figure 3).
Source: SAMHSA, 2002, 2003, and 2004 NSDUHs.
The National Survey on Drug
Use and Health (NSDUH) is an annual survey sponsored by the Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Prior to 2002, this survey was
called the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA). For this report, the
2002, 2003, and 2004 data are based on information obtained from 26,921 males
aged 18 to 25. The survey collects data by administering questionnaires to a
representative sample of the population through face-to-face interviews at their
place of residence. The NSDUH Report is prepared by the Office of Applied Studies (OAS), SAMHSA, and by RTI International in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. (RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute.) Information on NSDUH used in compiling data for this issue is available in the following publications: Office of Applied Studies. (2005). Results from the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National findings (DHHS Publication No. SMA 05-4062, NSDUH Series H-28). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Office of Applied Studies. (2004). Results from the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National findings (DHHS Publication No. SMA 04-3964, NSDUH Series H-25). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Office of Applied Studies. (2003). Results from the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National findings (DHHS Publication No. SMA 03-3836, NSDUH Series H-22). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Also available online: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov Because of improvements and modifications to the 2002 NSDUH, estimates from the 2002, 2003, and 2004 surveys should not be compared with estimates from the 2001 or earlier versions of the survey to examine changes over time. |
The NSDUH Report (formerly The NHSDA 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 on-line: 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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