April 13, 2007

Hispanic Female Admissions in Substance Abuse Treatment: 2005

The population of Hispanic females in the United States has continued to increase steadily over the last 5 years. In 2005, Hispanic females accounted for 14 percent of the U.S. female population.¹ Hispanic females include a mixture of ethnic subgroups which differ widely in substance abuse patterns from the non-Hispanic female population and from each other. These differences are captured in the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), an annual compilation of data on the demographic characteristics and substance abuse problems of those admitted to substance abuse treatment, primarily at facilities that receive some public funding. TEDS records represent admissions rather than individuals, as a person may be admitted to treatment more than once during a single year.²

This report uses 2005 TEDS data to examine substance abuse treatment admissions among females of Hispanic origin. In TEDS, the term "Hispanic" is used to describe a population of known Central, South American, or any other Spanish cultural origin (including Spain), regardless of race. Hispanic admissions are classified into four subgroups—Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and "other Hispanic."^3,4 In this report, comparisons are made between Hispanic and non-Hispanic female admissions of known race/ethnicity⁵ as well as between ethnic subgroups within Hispanic female admissions.⁶

In 2005, Hispanic females accounted for 10 percent of the female substance abuse treatment admissions reported to TEDS (approximately 61,000 admissions). Of these, 41 percent were of Mexican origin, 24 percent were of Puerto Rican origin, 4 percent were of Cuban origin, and 31 percent were identified as "other Hispanic."

Alcohol and opiates were two of the three most frequently reported primary substances of abuse⁷ for both Hispanic and non-Hispanic female admissions in 2005 (Figure 1). However, Hispanic female admissions were less likely than non-Hispanic females to report primary alcohol abuse (23 vs. 32 percent) and more likely to report primary opiate abuse (21 vs. 19 percent). Hispanic female admissions were also more likely to report stimulants as their primary substance (21 percent) than their non-Hispanic counterparts (12 percent).

Figure 1.  Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Female Admissions, by Primary Substance of Abuse: 2005

There were also distinct patterns in the primary substance of abuse reported within Hispanic female ethnic subgroups (Figure 2). The most frequently reported primary substance of abuse was opiates among female admissions of Puerto Rican and Cuban origin (43 and 29 percent, respectively), stimulants among those of Mexican origin (35 percent), and alcohol among those of "other Hispanic" origin (23 percent).

Figure 2. Hispanic Female Admissions, by Primary Substance of Abuse and Ethnic Subgroup: 2005

Over half of both Hispanic and non-Hispanic female admissions to substance abuse treatment in 2005 were aged 25 to 44 years (54 and 56 percent, respectively). Hispanic female admissions, however, were more likely than non-Hispanic female admissions to be younger than 18 years old (14 vs. 7 percent) and less likely to be 45 years or older (12 vs. 18 percent).

Within Hispanic subgroups, there were differences in age at admission. Female admissions of both Mexican and "other Hispanic" origin had the largest percentages of admissions in the younger age groups—younger than 18 and aged 18 to 24—and the smallest percentages in the older age groups—aged 25 to 44 and aged 45 or older (Figure 3). Conversely, female admissions of both Puerto Rican and Cuban origin had the smallest percentages of admissions in the younger age groups—younger than 18 and aged 18 to 24—and the largest percentages in the older age groups—aged 25 to 44 and aged 45 or older.

Figure 3. Hispanic Female Admissions, by Age and Ethnic Subgroup: 2005

Although the average age at admission to substance abuse treatment for Hispanic females was younger than for non-Hispanic females overall (31 vs. 34 years), this pattern was not consistent across all primary substances of abuse. In particular, Hispanic female admissions for opiates were older than their non-Hispanic counterparts, with an average age at admission of 37 versus 34 years (Table 1).

There were also differences among the ethnic subgroups of female Hispanic admissions in average age at admission by the primary substance of abuse. For most of the primary substances of abuse (except opiates and stimulants), female admissions of Mexican origin were younger than female admissions of Puerto Rican, Cuban, and "other Hispanic" origin (e.g., alcohol—31 vs. 38, 39, and 33 years, respectively; cocaine—31 vs. 36, 37, and 33 years, respectively; marijuana—21 vs. 24, 23, and 22 years, respectively).

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