Racial and Ethnic Groups:  Reports and Data

 

Reports on racial and ethnic groups:

bulletAfrican Americans/Blacks

bulletAmerican Indians/Alaska Natives

bulletAsian/Pacific Islanders

bulletHispanics/Latinos

bulletImmigrants

bulletList of all OAS reports on racial/ethnic groups

Other resources:

bulletRacial & ethnic data,  DHHS, Data Council 

bulletHealth statistics for racial & ethnic groups, DHHS

 

 

Highlights on racial &ethnic groups:

bulletPrevalence and correlates

bulletTreatment

bullet TEDS reports with treatment data

Data tables on racial and/or ethnic groups:

bulletAlcohol, tobacco & other drug use

bulletMental health data

bulletTreatment

Languages:

bulletLanguages and substance abuse treatment

bulletFor publications in various languages (Chinese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese) Navajo is coming soon

Languages and Substance Abuse Treatment

The DASIS Report: American Indian and Alaska Native Substance Abuse Treatment Services:  2004   Of the 13,454 facilities that reported in 2004 to SAMHSA's National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS), 283 served the American Indian and Alaska Native population specifically and were operated either by a Tribal Government (172 facilities), the Indian Health Services (34 facilities), or another type of public/private organization (77 facilities) that offered substance abuse treatment services in an American Indian or Alaska Native language. Of the 32 States with at least one substance abuse treatment facility that specifically served American Indian or Alaska Native clients, most were in the Midwest and West: Arizona (36 facilities), New Mexico (30 facilities), California (26 facilities), Washington (24 facilities), Oklahoma (23 facilities), Alaska (21 facilities), Wisconsin (16 facilities), Michigan (15 facilities), and Oregon (12 facilities). Substance abuse treatment facilities that specifically served American Indian or Alaska Native clients were more likely than other substance abuse treatment facilities to offer aftercare counseling (91% vs. 78%) and family counseling (85% vs. 76%). Substance abuse treatment facilities that specifically served American Indian or Alaska Native clients were less likely than other substance abuse treatment facilities to offer specially designed programs for criminal justice clients (24% vs. 31%).

The DASIS Report:   Facilities Providing Substance Abuse Treatment  in Languages Other than English  Of the 13,428 facilities reporting to SAMHSA's National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services, 70 percent were only English-speaking, 24 percent were Spanish-speaking, 3 percent spoke other languages, and 3 percent were multilingual speaking substance abuse treatment facilities. 

To locate a substance abuse treatment facility with the language of interest, click on Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Locator, locate your city/town of interest, and check on the "special language services" indicated for the facilities listed for your search.  

SAMHSA's substance abuse treatment facility locator identifies language assistance available by one or more facilities.  The locator lists 52 different American Indian and Alaska Native languages and 78 other languages.  Other languages include Cantonese, Farsi, Hawaiian, Hmong, Korean, Palauan, Swahili, Thai, and Vietnamese.  Hard copies of the National Directory of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Treatment Programs are available as well as the web version. 

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All Reports on Racial and/or Ethnic Groups

See SAMHSA's OAS reports listed below.  Also, many of the OAS reports provide data by racial and ethnic groups, even when that is not the primary emphasis of the report.  Therefore, check the short reports list and OAS topics for the topic of interest to see further data by racial and ethnic groups.  Also see Health Statistics for  Racial & Ethnic Groups, DHHS

African Americans/Blacks:

Also See:  All reports with data on racial/ethnic groups

American Indians/Alaska Natives: 

 SAMHSA's substance abuse treatment facility locator identifies language assistance available by one or more facilities.  The locator lists 52 different American Indian and Alaska Native languages (such as Aleut, Apache, Chippewa, Dakota, Hopi, Lakota, Lumbee, Navajo, Ojibwa, Pima, Seneca, Ute, and Zuni) as well as 78 other languages.  Hard copies of the National Directory of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Treatment Programs are available as well as the web version. 

Also See:  All reports with data on racial/ethnic groups

Asian/Pacific Islanders:

SAMHSA's substance abuse treatment facility locator identifies language assistance available by one or more facilities.  The locator lists 52 different American Indian and Alaska Native languages and 78 other languages.  Other languages include Cantonese, Chinese, Hawaiian, Japanese, Korean, Palauan, Samoan, Tongan and Vietnamese.  Hard copies of the National Directory of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Treatment Programs are available as well as the web version. 

Also See:  All reports with data on racial/ethnic groups

Hispanics/Latinos:

Spanish Language Materials, Information on Various Population Groups, & Related Materials

SAMHSA's substance abuse treatment facility locator identifies language assistance available by one or more facilities.  The locator lists 52 different American Indian and Alaska Native languages and 78 other languages.  Other languages include Spanish.  Hard copies of the National Directory of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Treatment Programs are available as well as the web version. 

Also See:  All reports with data on racial/ethnic groups

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Treatment Reports - - Characteristics of admissions to treatment

  • The DASIS Report:  Hispanic Female Admissions in Substance Abuse Treatment, 2005    Female Hispanic admissions comprise about 10% (61,000 admissions) of the female substance abuse treatment admissions reported to SAMHSA's 2005 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). Among female Hispanic admissions in TEDS, 41% were of Mexican origin, 24% were Puerto Rican, 4% were Cuban, and 31% were of other Hispanic origin. Hispanic female admissions were less likely than nonHispanic female substance abuse treatment admissions to report alcohol as their primary drug of abuse (23% vs. 32%). Hispanic female admissions were more likely than nonHispanic female admissions to substance abuse treatment to report stimulants as their primary drug of abuse (21% vs. 12%). The primary drug of abuse differed among the Hispanic origin groups of female admissions: Puerto Ricans (43%) and Cubans (29%) were more likely to report opiates, Mexicans (35%) were more likely to report stimulants, and other Hispanic origins (23%) were more likely to report alcohol as their primary drug of abuse. The average age at admission also varied among the Hispanic groups of female admissions in SAMHSA's Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).
  • The DASIS Report: American Indian and Alaska Native Substance Abuse Treatment Services:  2004   Of the 13,454 facilities that reported in 2004 to SAMHSA's National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS), 283 served the American Indian and Alaska Native population specifically and were operated either by a Tribal Government (172 facilities), the Indian Health Services (34 facilities), or another type of public/private organization (77 facilities) that offered substance abuse treatment services in an American Indian or Alaska Native language. Of the 32 States with at least one substance abuse treatment facility that specifically served American Indian or Alaska Native clients, most were in the Midwest and West: Arizona (36 facilities), New Mexico (30 facilities), California (26 facilities), Washington (24 facilities), Oklahoma (23 facilities), Alaska (21 facilities), Wisconsin (16 facilities), Michigan (15 facilities), and Oregon (12 facilities). Substance abuse treatment facilities that specifically served American Indian or Alaska Native clients were more likely than other substance abuse treatment facilities to offer aftercare counseling (91% vs. 78%) and family counseling (85% vs. 76%). Substance abuse treatment facilities that specifically served American Indian or Alaska Native clients were less likely than other substance abuse treatment facilities to offer specially designed programs for criminal justice clients (24% vs. 31%.
  • The DASIS Report:  Hispanics in Substance Abuse Treatment, 2003    Based on SAMHSA's 2003 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), Hispanic admissions were more likely to report opiate abuse than non-Hispanic admissions (28% vs. 16%). A greater proportion of Hispanic admissions were male (78%) than non-Hispanic admissions (68%). Puerto Rican admissions most frequently reported opiates as the primary substance of abuse, while other Hispanic admissions most frequently reported alcohol as the primary substance of abuse. 
  • The DASIS Report:  Substance Abuse Treatment among Asians and Pacific Islanders: 2002   About 16,700 Asian and Pacific Islander substance abuse treatment admissions were reported to SAMHSA's Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) in 2002. More than half of the Asian and Pacific Islander substance abuse treatment admissions were in California and Hawaii. Asian and Pacific Islander substance abuse treatment admissions were more likely than all other admissions to go into treatment for either marijuana or methamphetamine/ amphetamines and less likely to report alcohol, cocaine, heroin or other opiates as their primary substance of abuse. Among primary methamphetamine/amphetamine admissions, Asian and Pacific Islanders were more likely to report smoking methamphetamine/amphetamine (84%) than all other substance abuse treatment admissions (49%) and less likely to use other routes of administration. Asian and Pacific Islander substance abuse treatment admissions were much less likely to have health insurance (38%) than all other substance abuse treatment admissions (61%).
  • The DASIS Report: Characteristics of Primary Alcohol Admissions by Age of First Use of Alcohol: 2002    Of the 683,000 primary alcohol admissions aged 21 or older admitted to treatment and reported to SAMHSA's Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) in 2002, more than one third reported their age of first alcohol intoxication as between 15 and 17 years old. In TEDS age of first use of alcohol is defined as the age of first intoxication. Primary alcohol admissions with an age of first alcohol use prior to age 12 were more likely than all other age groups to have had five or more prior treatment episodes. Among primary alcohol admissions aged 21 or older, the average age of first alcohol use for males was 16.7 years old and for females 18.0 years old. The average age of first alcohol use varied greatly by racial and ethnic group with American Indian / Alaska Native primary alcohol admissions starting at the earliest age (mean age 15.1 years old), followed by White (mean age 16.6 years old), Black (mean age 17.2 years old), and Asian/ Pacific Islander admissions (mean age 17.9 years old). Hispanic primary alcohol admissions reported the latest age of first alcohol use: 19.7 years old.
  • The DASIS Report: Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions Among American Indians and Alaska Natives:  2002   In 2002, SAMHSA's Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) received reports of 39,463 American Indian / Alaska Native substance abuse treatment admissions. Of these admissions, 34,324 (87%) were American Indians and 5,139 (13%) were Alaska Natives. The percentage of American Indian or Alaska Native admissions entering treatment for illicit drugs increased from 23.6% of all American Indian or Alaska Native admissions in 1994 to 37.1% of all such American Indian or Alaska Native admissions in 2002. In 2002, alcohol remained the primary substance of abuse for American Indian / Alaska Native substance abuse treatment admissions. American Indian or Alaska Native admissions were more likely to report alcohol as their primary substance of abuse than all other admissions (63% vs. 42%) and less likely to report opiates (8% vs. 18%) or cocaine (13% vs. 5%) than all other admissions. American Indian / Alaska Native substance abuse treatment admissions were more likely to initiate substance use at age 14 or younger (46% vs. 32%) compared with all other racial / ethnic groups
  • The DASIS Report: Characteristics of Primary Phencyclidine (PCP) Admissions: 2001.   Phencyclidine (PCP) was reported as the primary substance of abuse for about 3,100 substance abuse treatment admissions reported in 2001 to SAMHSA's Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). The average age of primary PCP admissions was younger than that of all other substance abuse treatment admissions: 28 years of age for primary PCP admissions vs. 34 years for all other substance abuse treatment admissions. Primary PCP admissions were more likely than all other substance abuse treatment admissions to be Black (49% vs. 24%) or Hispanic (26% vs. 12%).
  • The DASIS Report: Treatment Admissions for Injection of Multiple Drugs: 2000   Treatment admissions by racial and ethnic groups differed in the types of multiple drugs injected.  Among those injecting more than one drug,  Black (94%), Hispanic (90%), and Asian (82%) admissions were more likely to report injecting both heroin and cocaine than White (65%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (54%) admissions.  
  • The DASIS Report:  Veterans in Substance Abuse Treatment:  1995-2000   Based on SAMHSA's Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), in 2000, the number of veterans admitted to substance abuse treatment exceeded 55,000 admissions; 3,000 of these were female veterans.  In all years between 1995 and 2000, female veteran admissions had higher proportions of Blacks than did male veteran admissions. 
  • The DASIS Report:  Women in Treatment for Smoked Cocaine: 2000   SAMHSA's 2000 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) indicates that more than a decade after the introduction of smoked cocaine (crack), 14 percent of all adult female admissions to substance abuse treatment were for the primary use of crack cocaine.  The average length of crack use was 12 years prior to admission.  About 58 percent of the adult female admissions for crack were Black, 32 percent were white and 5 percent were Hispanic. 
  • The DASIS Report:  Characteristics of Homeless Admissions to Substance Abuse Treatment   According to SAMHSA's Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), more than 120,000 admissions to substance abuse treatment in 2000 were homeless at time of admission.  Admissions who were homeless were more likely to be veterans and were older (average age 38 years) than admissions who were not homeless (age 33).   Among the homeless:  whites were most likely to be admitted for alcohol (61%) and opiates (17%); Blacks for alcohol (37%), smoked cocaine (37%), and opiates (15%); Hispanics for alcohol (48%) and opiates (33%); American Indians/Alaska Natives for alcohol (80%); and Asian/Pacific Islanders for alcohol (45%), stimulants (21%), and opiates (13%). 

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Prevalence & Correlates

 
  • The NSDUH Report: Cigarette Use Among Blacks, 2005 and 2006   Based on SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use & Health, 24.4% of Blacks aged 12 or older were current smokers, that is, smoked cigarettes in the past month.    Among Blacks who were current smokers, 80.4% smoked menthol cigarettes. Black females were more likely to smoke menthol cigarettes than males (84.3% vs. 77.1%).    An annual average of 263,000 Blacks smoked cigarettes for the first time in the 12 months before the survey in 2005 or 2006. Among those who had not smoked cigarettes previously, Black youths aged 16-17 (7.7%) were most likely to begin smoking and Black adults aged 35 or older (0.1%) were least likely to start smoking cigarettes.
  • The NSDUH Report:  Illicit Drug Use by Race/Ethnicity in Metropolitan and Non-Metropolitan Counties: 2004 and 2005  SAMHSA's National Survey of Drug Use and Health provides data on past month use of the following: any illicit drug, marijuana, and nonmedical use of prescription type drugs by race/ethnicity. This report also presents these by metropolitan status.   Among whites and Hispanics: past month use of any illicit drug, marijuana, or nonmedical prescription drugs was lowest in non metropolitan areas than in any other area.  Among blacks: past month use of any illicit drug or marijuana was lowest in non metropolitan areas than in any other area but nonmedical prescription drug use was highest in non metropolitan areas.  Among American Indians/Alaska Natives: past month use of any illicit drug or nonmedical prescription drug use was lowest in large metropolitan areas than in any other area but marijuana use was lowest in non metropolitan areas. 
  • The NSDUH Report:  Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders among American Indians and Alaska Natives  Data from SAMHSA's 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health were combined to calculate annual averages in order to make reliable estimates comparing substance use and substance use disorders by American Indians and Alaska Natives with substance use and substance disorders by the overall group of persons from other racial backgrounds.  Rates of past year use disorders were higher among American Indians and Alaska Natives than members of other racial groups for alcohol, illicit drug use, marijuana, cocaine, and hallucinogen use disorders.  Although in the past year, American Indians and Alaska Natives were less likely than persons of other racial backgrounds to have used alcohol (60.8% vs. 65.8%), they were more likely to have an alcohol use disorder (10.7% vs. 7.6%).  For illicit drug use, however, in the past year, American Indians and Alaska Natives were more likely than persons of other racial backgrounds both to have used an illicit drug (18.4% vs. 14.6%) and to have an illicit drug use disorder (5.0% vs. 2.9%).
  • The NSDUH Report: Past Month Cigarette Use Among Racial and Ethnic Groups   Data from SAMHSA's 2002-2004 National Surveys on Drug Use & Health were pooled to examine rates of cigarette smoking among various racial and ethnic groups. Rates of past month cigarette smoking among persons aged 12 or older were highest among American Indians or Alaska Natives (34.8%) and persons of two or more races (34.6%). Past month cigarette smoking was lowest among Asians (13.4%). Among Asians, the rate of past month cigarette smoking was highest among Koreans (24.9%) and lowest among Chinese (7.5%). Among Hispanic past month smokers, Puerto Ricans and Cubans were more likely to report daily cigarette smoking than Central or South Americans or Mexicans.
  • The NSDUH Report:  Substance Use among Hispanic Youths    Based on SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) in 2002 and 2003, Hispanic youths aged 12 to 17 were less likely to report past month alcohol use and past month marijuana use than non-Hispanic youths. Among Hispanic youths, Cuban youths had the highest rates of past month alcohol use while Puerto Rican youths had the highest rates of past month illicit drug use. Hispanic youths who were born in the United States were more likely to have used illicit drugs in the past month than Hispanic youths born outside the United States. 
  • The NSDUH Report:  Risk & Protective Factors for Substance Use Among American Indian or Alaska Native Youths    SAMHSA's 2002/2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health provided data on three categories of risk factors for substance use among American Indian or Alaska Native youths: individual/peers, family, and school. American Indian or Alaska Native youths were more likely than other youths to perceive moderate to no risk associated with substance use, to perceive their parents as not strongly disapproving of their substance use, and to believe that all or most of the students in their school get drunk at least once a week. According to American Indian or Alaska Native youths, their parents were about as likely as those of other youths to talk to their child about dangers of substance use, to let the youth know they had done a good job, to tell their youth that they were proud of something they had done, to make their youth do chores around the house or to limit the amount of time watching TV. However, parents of American Indian or Alaska Native youths were less likely to provide help with school homework or to limit the time out with friends on school nights.
  • The NSDUH Report:  How Youths Obtain Marijuana    SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that, in 2002, over 60 percent of youths aged 12 to 17 who had used marijuana in the past year obtained their most recently used marijuana for free or shared someone else's marijuana. Among youths who obtained marijuana for free or shared it, blacks (18 percent) were more likely than whites (9 percent) or Hispanics (7 percent) to have obtained it from a relative or family member. Among youths who bought their most recently used marijuana, white youths (9 percent) were more likely than black youths (4 percent) to have purchased it inside a school building.
  • The NSDUH Report:  Pregnancy and Substance Use   In 2002, 3 percent of pregnant women aged 15 to 44 used illicit drugs in the past month, 3 percent reported binge alcohol use, and 17 percent reported smoking cigarettes in the past month.  Among pregnant women aged 15 to 44, whites were more likely to have smoked cigarettes in the past month than blacks or Hispanics. 
  • The NSDUH Report:  Quantity and Frequency of Alcohol Use   SAMHSA's 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) examined the number of days, average number of drinks per day, and driving under the influence of alcohol among current drinkers.  Whites drank on more days in the past month (9 days) than American Indians/Alaska Natives (7.3 days), Blacks (7.2 days), Hispanics (6.5 days) or Asians (5.5 days).  However, American Indians/Alaska Natives (5.9 drinks) and Hispanics (4 drinks) averaged more drinks per day of use than Whites (2.9 drinks) Blacks (2.9 drinks), or Asians (2.5 drinks). 
  • The NHSDA Report:  Racial and Ethnic Differences in Youth Hallucinogen Use    Based on SAMHSA's National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, in 2001 almost 1.4 million youth aged 12 to 17 had used hallucinogens at least once in their lifetime.  Among youth, Blacks were less likely than whites, Asians, or Hispanics to have used any hallucinogen in their lifetime.  Blacks and Hispanics were more likely than whites and Asians to perceive great risk in trying LSD once or twice. 

This page was last updated on December 30, 2008.