Table 1.
Select Baseline Characteristics of Participants Overall and by DAST-10 Drug Use Severity Subcategories
| DAST-10 Drug Use Severity Subcategory* | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | Overall (N = 868) |
Low (n = 278) |
Intermediate (n = 328) |
Substantial/Severe (n = 262) |
P Value† |
| Demographics | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Age, mean years (SD) | 47.76 (10.89) | 48.73 (11.69) | 48.28 (10.83) | 46.09 (9.89) | .01 |
| Male | 604 (70) | 183 (66) | 235 (72) | 186 (71) | .25 |
| Race‡ | -- | -- | -- | -- | .01 |
| White | 386 (45) | 143 (52) | 132 (41) | 111 (43) | -- |
| Black | 320 (37) | 82 (30) | 126 (39) | 112 (43) | -- |
| Other | 150 (18) | 49 (18) | 65 (20) | 36 (14) | -- |
| Hispanic | 72 (9) | 19 (7) | 25 (8) | 28 (12) | .16 |
| Marital status | -- | -- | -- | -- | .04 |
| Married/living with partner | 161 (19) | 51 (18) | 73 (22) | 37 (14) | -- |
| Divorced/separated/widowed | 348 (40) | 99 (36) | 132 (40) | 117 (45) | -- |
| Never married | 357 (41) | 126 (46) | 123 (38) | 108 (41) | -- |
| Education | -- | -- | -- | -- | <.001 |
| High school or less | 166 (19) | 38 (14) | 66 (20) | 62 (24) | -- |
| High school graduate | 254 (29) | 70 (25) | 98 (30) | 86 (33) | -- |
| Beyond high school | 447 (52) | 170 (61) | 163 (50) | 114 (44) | -- |
| Employment status | -- | -- | -- | -- | .01 |
| Working | 78 (9) | 35 (13) | 31 (9) | 12 (5) | -- |
| Unemployed/retired/in school/ homemaker/other |
238 (27) | 84 (30) | 89 (27) | 65 (25) | -- |
| Disabled and unable to work | 551 (64) | 159 (57) | 208 (63) | 184 (70) | -- |
| Homeless in shelter or on street ≥1 night in past 90 days |
263 (30) | 42 (15) | 91 (28) | 130 (50) | <.001 |
| Substance Use/Treatment | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| ASI days most frequently used drug, mean (SD)§ |
13.82 (11.00) | 12.25 (11.00) | 14.35 (11.08) | 14.84 (10.77) | .01 |
| ASI Drug Use composite score, mean (SD)§,‖ |
0.11 (0.10) | 0.06 (0.05) | 0.10 (0.09) | 0.19 (0.12) | <.001 |
| ASI drug use, any in past 30 days¶ |
-- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Marijuana | 656 (76) | 243 (87) | 249 (76) | 164 (63) | <.001 |
| Stimulants¶ | 362 (42) | 40 (14) | 141 (43) | 181 (69) | <.001 |
| Cocaine | 325 (37) | 34 (12) | 130 (40) | 161 (61) | <.001 |
| Amphetamines | 63 (7) | 7 (3) | 20 (6) | 36 (14) | <.001 |
| Opiates¶ | 228 (26) | 33 (12) | 93 (28) | 102 (39) | <.001 |
| Heroin | 59 (7) | 1 (0) | 13 (4) | 45 (17) | <.001 |
| Methadone and other | 208 (24) | 33 (12) | 86 (26) | 89 (34) | <.001 |
| opiates/analgesics non- prescribed |
|||||
| Sedatives/hypnotics/ tranquilizers |
72 (8) | 7 (3) | 28 (9) | 37 (14) | <.001 |
| Other drugs§,# | 51 (6) | 9 (3) | 19 (6) | 23 (9) | .02 |
| 2 or more drugs used in past 30 days§ |
389 (45) | 63 (23) | 152 (46) | 174 (66) | <.001 |
| Intravenous drug use past 30 days |
72 (8) | 5 (2) | 15 (5) | 52 (20) | <.001 |
| Goal of total abstinence from drugs§,** |
323 (37) | 40 (14) | 124 (38) | 159 (61) | <.001 |
| ASI Alcohol Use composite score, mean (SD)‖ |
0.15 (0.20) | 0.08 (0.13) | 0.13 (0.18) | 0.25 (0.25) | <.001 |
| ASI alcohol use, any in past 30 days |
598 (69) | 182 (65) | 220 (67) | 196 (75) | .04 |
| Nicotine use, any in past 30 days | 620 (72) | 169 (61) | 242 (74) | 209 (80) | <.001 |
| CD treatment services†† | |||||
| Admitted to CD treatment | 147 (17) | 17 (6) | 44 (14) | 86 (34) | <.001 |
| Detoxification (not followed by CD treatment) |
65 (8) | 9 (3) | 14 (4) | 42 (17) | <.001 |
| Other Psychosocial | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| ≥1 Felony misdemeanor gross arrests†† |
122 (14) | 17 (6) | 45 (14) | 60 (24) | <.001 |
| HIV risk-taking score, mean (SD)§§ |
3.35 (4.21) | 2.57 (3.16) | 3.12 (3.67) | 4.46 (5.45) | <.001 |
| ASI Family/Social composite score, mean (SD)§ |
0.17 (0.22) | 0.12 (0.18) | 0.17 (0.21) | 0.22 (0.25) | <.001 |
Data are reported as No. (%) of participants unless otherwise indicated. Missing values are not included in this table.
Out of 10,337 individuals screened, 1,621, or about 16% were found eligible. Of these, 520 declined to participate and 154 were excluded for other reasons (e.g., left during consent process). The remaining 947 provided consent. Of these 947, 79 were excluded (22 due to current participation in chemical dependency treatment, 9 due to acute suicidality or psychosis, 8 due to no drug use in the past 3 months, 3 due to not being a primary care patient, 2 with insufficient contact information), 32 declined to participate, and 3 were excluded for other reasons, leaving 868 as the final sample.
P value based on chi square, ANOVA, or Kruskal Wallis test.
Assessed by self-report using National Institutes of Health reporting categories for federally funded clinical research.
Excludes use of alcohol or nicotine.
ASI composite scores range from 0 to 1, with 1 indicating greatest problem severity.
ASI drug use groups reported are not mutually exclusive.
“Other drugs” can include all other abused medications (e.g. antihistamines, antidepressants) or drugs of abuse (e.g., hallucinogens, inhalants) not included in the existing categories.
From the Thoughts about Abstinence measure, which is used to assess one’s goal for changing drug use (no goal, controlled use, occasional use, temporary abstinence, total abstinence slip is possible, total abstinence never use again). The reported “Goal of total abstinence from drugs” includes “Total abstinence, never use again”, and “Total abstinence, slip is possible.”
Administrative data available for 848 participants in the 2 years prior to study enrollment.
HIV risk taking score ranges from 0 to 50, with 50 indicating greatest HIV risk.
DAST-10, Drug Abuse Screening Test 10-item; ASI, Addiction Severity Index; CD, chemical dependency.