Table 1.

Survey items used to create substance use outcome measures for child welfare—involved (NSCAW) and community (Add Health) youths

Variable	NSCAW	Add Health
Lifetime alcohol use	“In your whole life, on how many days did you drink an alcoholic beverage, including beer, wine, wine coolers, and distilled spirits? Please do not include any sips you may have had from another person’s drink.”	“Have you had a drink of beer, wine, or distilled spirits—not just a sip or taste of someone else’s drink—more than two or three times in your life?”
Current alcohol use	“In the last 30 days, on how many days did you drink an alcoholic beverage?”	“During the past 12 months, on how many days did you drink alcohol?”a
Lifetime marijuana use	“In your whole life, on how many days have you used marijuana (pot, grass) or hashish (hash)?”	“During your life, how many times have you used marijuana?”
Current marijuana use	“In the last 30 days, on how many days did you use marijuana or hashish?”	“During the past 30 days, how many times did you use marijuana?”
Lifetime inhalant use	“In your whole life, on how many days have you sniffed glue, gasoline, or other liquids and gases to get high?”	“During your life, how many times have you used inhalants, such as glue or solvents?”
Current inhalant use	“In the last 30 days, on how many days did you sniff glue, gasoline, or other liquids and gases to get high?”	“During the past 30 days, how many times did you use inhalants?”
Lifetime illicit drug use	“In your whole life, on how many days have you used hard drugs such as cocaine, crack, or heroin?”	“During your life, how many times have you used cocaine and/or tried any other type of illegal drug, such as LSD, PCP, Ecstasy, mushrooms, speed, ice, heroin, or pills, without a doctor’s prescription?”
Current illicit drug use	“In the last 30 days, on how many days did you use hard drugs such as cocaine, crack, or heroin?”	“During the past 30 days, how many times did you use cocaine and/or how many times did you use any of these types of illegal drugs?”

Notes: NSCAW = National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being; Add Health = National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health; LSD = lysergic acid diethylamide; PCP = phencyclidine; Ecstasy = 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine.

^aCurrent alcohol use among community youths (Add Health) is coded as “yes” if youths responded that they had drunk “once a month or less, or between 3 and 12 times” or more in the past 12 months and were coded as “no” if they had drunk “1 or 2 days” or less in the past 12 months.