July 23, 2009

Race/Ethnicity of Female Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions Aged 25 to 34

Substance use patterns and treatment needs vary among women. Among women entering substance abuse treatment, those aged 25 to 34 are of particular interest because they most likely have finished their formal education, are part of the workforce, and are in the midst of what are considered the prime childbearing years. Because race/ethnicity has been found to be a predictor of treatment completion or transfer to further treatment, it is also important to understand the racial/ethnic diversity of women aged 25 to 34 who enter treatment.¹ Such an understanding may help providers meet the varying needs of women aged 25 to 34 from different racial/ethnic groups.

Using the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), this report examines primary substance of abuse, type of treatment received, educational level, employment status, marital and pregnancy status, and principal source of referral among the approximately 163,300 female admissions aged 25 to 34 to substance abuse treatment in 2007 with known race and ethnicity. In 2007, these female admissions accounted for 28 percent of all female substance abuse treatment admissions. Of them, 67 percent were White, 15 percent were Black, 12 percent were Hispanic, 3 percent were American Indian/Alaska Native, and 3 percent were Asian/Pacific Islander or other race/ethnicity.

Results are presented for the female age group as a whole and by racial/ethnic group. This report is the second in a series that examines female substance abuse treatment admissions by age and race/ethnicity; the first report examined female substance abuse treatment admissions aged 18 to 24 in 2006.

The most frequently reported primary substance of abuse among females aged 25 to 34 was alcohol (27 percent), followed by cocaine (17 percent), methamphetamine (15 percent), heroin (13 percent), and marijuana (12 percent) (Figure 1). However, there was variation by race/ethnicity:

• American Indian/Alaska Native female admissions were more likely than other female admissions to report primary alcohol abuse (48 vs. 27 percent or less).
  
  
• Black females were more likely than females from other racial/ethnic groups to report primary marijuana abuse (27 percent vs. 12 percent or less).
  
  
• Black female admissions were almost twice as likely as Hispanic and White female admissions (31 vs. 16 and 14 percent) and about four times as likely as Asian/Pacific Islander (7 percent) and American Indian/Alaska Native (8 percent) female admissions to report primary cocaine abuse.
  
  
• Asian/Pacific Islander female admissions were more likely than other female admissions to report primary methamphetamine abuse (48 vs. 27 percent or less).
  

Outpatient treatment was the most common type of treatment among female admissions aged 25 to 34 overall (50 percent) and across the racial/ethnic groups (45 to 57 percent) (Table 1). Detoxification was the second most common type of treatment among White and Hispanic admissions, while intensive outpatient treatment was the second most common type of treatment among Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Asian/Pacific Islander admissions. Among female admissions aged 25 to 34, a higher percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native admissions received short-term residential treatment than female admissions from other races or ethnicities (13 vs. 11 percent or less). Asian/Pacific Islander female admissions were more likely to receive long-term residential treatment than other female admissions in this age group (21 vs. 11 percent or less).

Among female admissions aged 25 to 34, more than a third (34 percent) had not completed high school and more than a quarter (27 percent) had some college (Table 2). Less than a quarter (24 percent) of female admissions this age were employed and more than two thirds were either unemployed or not in the labor force (40 and 36 percent, respectively). When examined by race/ethnicity, there were some variations:

• Black and Hispanic female admissions were more likely than female admissions from other racial/ethnic groups to have not completed high school (47 and 48 vs. 41 percent or less).
  
  
• White and Asian/Pacific Islander female admissions were more likely than other female admissions to have some college (31 and 28 vs. 22 percent or less).
  
  
• In no racial/ethnic group were more than 26 percent of female admissions employed.
  
  
• A third or more of Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, White, and Hispanic female admissions were unemployed.
  

Overall, more than half of female admissions aged 25 to 34 had never been married (58 percent), although there was some variation by race/ethnicity (Figure 2).² Black admissions were more likely than admissions from other racial or ethnic groups never to have been married (79 vs. 63 percent or less), while Hispanic admissions were more likely than other female admissions to be married at the time of admission (21 vs. 19 percent or less). White female admissions were slightly more likely than their counterparts from other racial/ethnic groups to be divorced or separated (27 vs. 25 percent or less).

About 6 percent of female admissions aged 25 to 34 were pregnant at the time of admission, and there was little variation by race/ethnicity.³ White female admissions were slightly less likely than Black, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, or Asian/Pacific Islander female admissions to be pregnant at the time of admission (5 vs. 7 or 8 percent each).

The most frequently reported principal source of referral among females aged 25 to 34 was self/individual (33 percent), followed by the criminal justice system (30 percent) and referrals from community or religious organizations or government agencies providing aid or social services (19 percent) (Table 3). Similar patterns were exhibited across the racial/ethnic groups, though some differences were present.

American Indian/Alaska Native and Asian/Pacific Islander admissions were more likely than female admissions from other racial/ethnic groups to be referred to treatment by the criminal justice system (41 and 42 percent, respectively, vs. 33 percent or less). White female admissions were slightly more likely than other female admissions the same age to be self/individual referrals (34 vs. 30 percent or less). More than a fifth of Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native female admissions aged 25 to 34 were referred to treatment by community organizations or agencies providing religious or other social services.

Findings from this report indicate that regardless of race/ethnicity only a small proportion of female admissions aged 25 to 34 were employed. In addition, Black and Hispanic female admissions were more likely than female admissions from other racial/ethnic groups not to have completed a high school education. Understanding the differences and similarities among female admissions by race/ethnicity may assist treatment program managers and provide adult education programs, to women in this age group. Appropriately targeted services may lead to higher substance abuse treatment completion rates and a reduced likelihood for relapse and future substance use.

¹ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. (February 26, 2009). The TEDS Report: Predictors of substance abuse treatment completion or transfer to further treatment, by service type. Rockville, MD: Author.
² Marital status is a Supplemental Data Set item. The 39 States and jurisdictions in which it was reported for at least 75 percent of all applicable admissions in 2007—AR, CO, DC, DE, FL, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, PR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, WA, and WY—accounted for 63 percent of substance abuse admissions in 2007.
³ Pregnancy status is a Supplemental Data Set item. The 44 States and jurisdictions in which it was reported for at least 75 percent of all applicable admissions in 2007—AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, ND, NE, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, PR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, and WY—accounted for 99 percent of all applicable admissions in 2007.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. (July 23, 2009). The TEDS Report: Race/Ethnicity of Female Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions Aged 25 to 34. Rockville, MD.

This page was last updated on .