Introduction

The prevalence of drug use and abuse among adolescents continues to be a major social problem in the United States.   It is common knowledge that teenagers in today’s society have easy access to a wide range of illegal drugs. Some teens will become recreational drug users while others will engage in heavy drug abuse.

Adolescent drug abuse remains a serious concern to public health officials, school administrators, and parents.  Alcohol and drug use is one of the six health risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems among youth and adults (CDC, 2011).  Drug abuse and addiction in adulthood can often be traced to adolescent drug abuse where these risky behaviors are often established.  This is why large-scale surveys of high school students are conducted every two years by the Youth Risk Surveillance System (YRSS) to identify trends in adolescents’ use of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and other illegal drugs.  They YRSS has data dating back to 1991 so they are able to identify trends in teen drug use.

In 2011, YRBS conducted a survey of a nationally representative sample of 9th through 12th graders to monitor their use and abuse of drugs.  According to the survey, the top three common substances reported to ever having been tried began with alcohol ranking first, next was cigarettes, and then marijuana coming in third (correlates with textbook).   The following statistics highlight some of the 2011 findings:

In 2011, the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBS) conducted a survey including nationally representative sample of 9th through 12th grader to monitor their use and abuse of drugs, among various risky behaviors. According to the survey, the top three common substances reported to ever having been tried began with alcohol ranking in first, next was cigarettes, and then marijuana coming in third.

 

Substance Abuse

  1. 70.8% of students had had at least one drink of alcohol on at least 1 day during their life (i.e., ever drank alcohol).
  2. 44.7% of students had ever tried cigarette smoking (even one or two puffs) (i.e., ever smoked cigarettes).
  3. 39.9% of students had used marijuana one or more times during their life (i.e., ever used marijuana).
  4.  38.7% of students had had at least one drink of alcohol on at least 1 day during the 30 days before the survey (i.e., current alcohol use).
  5. 25.6% of students had been offered, sold, or given an illegal drug by someone on school property during the 12 months before the survey
  6. 20.7% of students had taken prescription drugs (e.g., Oxycontin, Percocet, Vicodin, codeine, Adderall, Ritalin, or Xanax) without a doctor’s prescription one or more times during their life (i.e., ever took prescription drugs without a doctor’s prescription).
  7.  11.4% of students had sniffed glue, breathed the contents of aerosol spray cans, or inhaled any paints or sprays to get high one or more times during their life (i.e., ever used inhalants).
  8.  6.8% of students had used any form of cocaine (e.g., powder, crack, or freebase) one or more times during their life (i.e., ever used cocaine).
  9. 3.8% of students had used methamphetamines (also called “speed,” “crystal,” “crank,” or “ice”) one or more times during their life (i.e., ever used methamphetamines).
  10.  3.6% of students had taken steroid pills or shots without a doctor’s prescription one or more times during their life (i.e., ever took steroids without a doctor’s prescription).
  11.   2.9% of students had used heroin (also called “smack,” “junk,” or “China White”) one or more times during their life (i.e., ever used heroin).
  12. 2.3% of students had used a needle to inject any illegal drug into their body one or more times during their life (i.e., ever injected any illegal drug).

 

Prevalence Rates

The prevalence of having been offered, sold, or given an illegal drug by someone on school property was higher among male (29.2%) than female (21.7%) students.

The prevalence of having been offered, sold, or given an illegal drug by someone on school property was higher among Hispanic (33.2%) than white (22.7%) and black (22.8%) students.

  • Nationwide in 2011, 70.8% of high school students had had at least one drink of alcohol on at least 1 day during their life (i.e., ever drank alcohol).
  • The prevalence of having ever drunk alcohol was 70.9% among female students and 70.6% among male students.
  • The prevalence of having ever drunk alcohol was higher among white (71.7%) and Hispanic (73.2%)  than black (63.5%) students.

 

According to the results from the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings,  it was 7 times more likelier for the adults over 21 years old who had their first alcoholic drink at the age of 14 or younger to be officially considered to have alcohol dependence and abuse.

  • The Department of Health and Human Services reported dependence on substances or abuse of substances among adolescents aged 12 up until 17 years from 2002 to 2011 went from 8.9% and dropped to 6.9%.
  • Among youths aged 12 to 17, the rate of current nonmedical use of prescription-type drugs declined from 4.0 percent in 2002 to 2.8 percent in 2011. The rate of nonmedical pain reliever use declined during this period from 3.2 to 2.3 percent among youths.
  • The rate of current alcohol use among youths aged 12 to 17 was 13.3 percent in 2011. Youth binge and heavy drinking rates in 2011 were 7.4 and 1.5 percent, respectively. These rates were all similar to those reported in 2010 (13.6, 7.9, and 1.7 percent, respectively).
  • There were an estimated 9.7 million underage (aged 12 to 20) drinkers in 2011, including 6.1 million binge drinkers and 1.7 million heavy drinkers.
  • Past month, binge, and heavy drinking rates among underage persons declined between 2002 and 2011. Past month alcohol use declined from 28.8 to 25.1 percent, while binge drinking declined from 19.3 to 15.8 percent, and heavy drinking declined from 6.2 to 4.4 percent.
  • The data from the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health show fluctuations in drug use.  The percentages were higher in 2002, then dropped between 2002 -2009, then started to rise again although they have remained largely unchanged between 2009-2011.

Figure 2.7

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Results from the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings, NSDUH Series H-44, HHS Publication No. (SMA) 12-4713. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2012.

Leave a Reply


Skip to toolbar