TABLE 1—
Demographics, Socioeconomics, Substance Use Disorders, and Medical Conditions by Severe Psychological Distress: National Survey on Drug Use and Health, United States, 2008–2010
| Variables | No SPD (n = 94 291), % (SE) | SPDa (n = 16 164), % (SE) | Total (n = 110 455), % (SE) |
| Gender | |||
| Female | 50.6 (0.27) | 62.8 (0.70) | 51.9** (0.25) |
| Race/ethnicity | |||
| White | 68.6 (0.29) | 70.7 (0.66) | 68.8* (0.26) |
| African American | 11.6 (0.22) | 10.8 (0.44) | 11.5 (0.20) |
| Hispanic | 13.6 (0.23) | 13.2 (0.41) | 13.6 (0.21) |
| Other | 6.3 (0.16) | 5.3 (0.30) | 6.2 (0.15) |
| Age group, y | |||
| 18–25 | 13.0 (0.16) | 24.4 (0.47) | 14.2 (0.17) |
| 26–34 | 15.4 (0.16) | 20.5 (0.53) | 15.9 (0.17) |
| 35–49 | 28.0 (0.26) | 30.1 (0.67) | 28.2 (0.24) |
| ≥ 50 | 43.6 (0.33) | 25.0 (0.83) | 41.7 (0.31) |
| Education level | |||
| < high school | 14.7 (0.24) | 18.4 (0.60) | 15.1** (0.23) |
| High school graduate | 30.8 (0.33) | 31.6 (0.67) | 30.8 (0.32) |
| Some college | 25.1 (0.23) | 28.5 (0.61) | 25.5 (0.22) |
| ≥ college graduate | 29.5 (0.40) | 21.5 (0.57) | 28.7 (0.38) |
| Marital status | |||
| Married | 56.5 (0.32) | 38.0 (0.67) | 54.5** (0.31) |
| Widowed | 6.3 (0.16) | 4.8 (0.48) | 6.1 (0.15) |
| Divorced | 12.8 (0.24) | 18.7 (0.60) | 13.4 (0.23) |
| Never married | 24.4 (0.25) | 38.5 (0.66) | 25.9 (0.23) |
| Employment status | |||
| Full time | 52.8 (0.32) | 43.7 (0.73) | 51.8** (0.31) |
| Part time | 13.6 (0.16) | 15.8 (0.42) | 13.8 (0.16) |
| Unemployed | 5.2 (0.10) | 9.1 (0.37) | 5.6 (0.10) |
| Other (including not in labor force) | 28.4 (0.35) | 31.5 (0.55) | 28.8 (0.33) |
| Federal poverty levelb | |||
| < 100% | 11.0 (0.18) | 20.2 (0.54) | 11.9** (0.18) |
| 100%–199% | 18.9 (0.24) | 24.8 (0.69) | 19.5 (0.23) |
| > 199% | 70.1 (0.32) | 55.0 (0.76) | 68.6 (0.31) |
| Health insurance coverage | |||
| Insured | 84.8 (0.20) | 79.2 (0.52) | 84.2** (0.18) |
| Uninsured < 3 y | 7.1 (0.13) | 12.2 (0.45) | 7.6 (0.12) |
| Uninsured ≥ 3 y | 8.1 (0.13) | 8.6 (0.33) | 8.2 (0.13) |
| Past-month dependence on nicotine | 12.9 (0.19) | 28.2 (0.66) | 14.5** (0.18) |
| Past-year abuse or dependence on | |||
| Alcohol | 6.3 (0.11) | 18.2 (0.59) | 7.6** (0.13) |
| Marijuana | 1.1 (0.04) | 5.0 (0.22) | 1.5** (0.05) |
| Cocaine | 0.3 (0.02) | 2.2 (0.19) | 0.5** (0.03) |
| Heroin | 0.1 (0.01) | 0.8 (0.09) | 0.1** (0.02) |
| Analgesics | 0.4 (0.03) | 3.3 (0.21) | 0.7** (0.03) |
| Hallucinogens | 0.1 (0.01) | 0.5 (0.05) | 0.1** (0.01) |
| Inhalants | < 0.1 (0.00) | 0.2 (0.04) | < 0.1** (0.01) |
| Sedatives | < 0.1 (0.00) | 0.4 (0.08) | 0.1** (0.01) |
| Stimulants | < 0.1 (0.00) | 0.7 (0.09) | 0.1** (0.01) |
| Tranquilizers | < 0.1 (0.00) | 1.0 (0.12) | 0.2** (0.01) |
| Any drug other than alcohol or marijuana | 0.8 (0.04) | 6.1 (0.31) | 1.4** (0.05) |
| Any drug including alcohol and marijuana | 7.3 (0.12) | 23.2 (0.63) | 9.0** (0.14) |
| Medical multimorbidity | |||
| 1 chronic medical condition | 29.0 (0.25) | 28.4 (0.54) | 29.0** (0.24) |
| 2 chronic medical conditions | 12.3 (0.19) | 13.1 (0.42) | 12.4 (0.17) |
| ≥ 3 chronic medical conditions | 9.0 (0.17) | 15.5 (0.63) | 9.7 (0.16) |
Note. SPD = severe psychological distress. All percentages are based on the combined weighted data from 2008, 2009, and 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health participants aged ≥ 18 years. The sample sizes are based on the unweighted data and exclude 4768 cases with missing information on chronic medical conditions, insurance coverage, and federal poverty level. The standard errors are based on data weighted for sampling probabilities and controlling for design effects from stratification and clustering. Significance tests compare demographics by past-year severe psychological distress status and are based on a likelihood ratio χ2.
Based on a score of ≥ 13 on the K6 screening scale indicating severe psychological distress associated with a high likelihood of a serious mental illness and at least moderate functional impairment.
Federal poverty level is based on US Census definition.
*P < .01; **P < .001.