Table 2.
Prevalence (%) of Past-year Substance Use Problems and Co-occurring Mental Health Problems by Age Groupsa
| Disorders | Age <15 | Age 15-17 | Age 18-25 | Age 26-39 | Age 40+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any substance use problemsb* | 71.6 | 82.3 | 80.0 | 87.4 | 87.1 |
| Substance abuse | 26.9 | 27.6 | 18.3 | 8.3 | 9.7 |
| Substance dependence | 44.7 | 54.7 | 61.7 | 79.1 | 77.4 |
| Alcohol use* | 21.7 | 27.8 | 38.9 | 37.3 | 44.0 |
| Alcohol abuse | 13.9 | 18.1 | 17.3 | 10.0 | 13.1 |
| Alcohol dependence | 7.8 | 9.7 | 21.6 | 27.3 | 30.9 |
| Amphetamine use* | 2.2 | 3.9 | 7.6 | 3.6 | 0.6 |
| Amphetamine abuse | 0.4 | 1.3 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
| Amphetamine dependence | 1.8 | 2.6 | 4.6 | 2.8 | 0.6 |
| Cannabis use* | 41.6 | 44.8 | 40.8 | 13.3 | 6.6 |
| Cannabis abuse | 18.1 | 18.5 | 15.1 | 5.5 | 3.6 |
| Cannabis dependence | 23.5 | 26.3 | 25.7 | 7.8 | 3.0 |
| Cocaine use* | 2.2 | 3.6 | 22.8 | 62.9 | 58.5 |
| Cocaine abuse | 1.2 | 1.6 | 3.7 | 8.3 | 7.1 |
| Cocaine dependence | 1.0 | 2.0 | 19.1 | 54.6 | 51.4 |
| Hallucinogen use* | 1.3 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| Hallucinogen abuse | 0.7 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 0 .4 | 0.0 |
| Hallucinogen dependence | 0.6 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Inhalant use* | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Inhalant abuse | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Inhalant dependence | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Opioid use* | 0.7 | 2.4 | 9.6 | 19.9 | 21.8 |
| Opioid abuse | 0.4 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 2.8 |
| Opioid dependence | 0.3 | 1.5 | 8.6 | 17.7 | 19.0 |
| Phencyclidine (PCP) use | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| PCP abuse | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| PCP dependence | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Sedative use* | 1.2 | 1.4 | 2.7 | 1.6 | 0.4 |
| Sedative abuse | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Sedative dependence | 0.3 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 0.0 |
| Other drug use disorder-NOS* | 12.8 | 11.4 | 10.6 | 6.5 | 4.8 |
| Other abuse | 11.0 | 9.5 | 5.0 | 1.8 | 1.6 |
| Other dependence | 1.8 | 1.9 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 3.2 |
| Poly-substance dependencec* | 16.1 | 21.4 | 7.5 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Any mental health problems* | 75.6 | 73.0 | 67.4 | 71.0 | 69.3 |
| Any internalizing problems* | 48.4 | 52.6 | 60.5 | 69.4 | 67.9 |
| Depression | 32.7 | 36.2 | 41.8 | 56.1 | 56.2 |
| Anxiety | 14.3 | 17.2 | 32.4 | 46.7 | 45.7 |
| Traumatic distress | 36.7 | 39.1 | 50.4 | 48.8 | 46.9 |
| Any externalizing problems* | 67.7 | 63.4 | 48.7 | 39.9 | 36.4 |
| ADHD | 48.2 | 45.3 | 39.0 | 30.6 | 31.1 |
| Conduct problems | 58.6 | 55.7 | 39.7 | 31.1 | 25.4 |
| Both internalizing and externalizing problems* | 40.4 | 42.9 | 41.8 | 38.3 | 35.0 |
a
All of the cross tabulation comparisons of defined problems by age groups were statistically significant
*
p<0.05; For cell numbers less than 10 observations, Fisher’s exact text was applied.
b
For each substance-specific use problem, abuse and dependence are mutually exclusive.
c
Consistent with DSM-IV, poly-substance dependence included those who endorsed dependence symptoms related to three or more substances use in the past year, but did not meet dependence criteria for any single substance.