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The Dasis Report (Drug and Alcohol Information System)
April 23, 2004

Treatment Admissions for Primary Alcohol Abuse Among Youth Aged 18-20: 2001

In Brief
  • In 2001, 60 percent of the 112,000 substance abuse treatment admissions aged 18-20 involved alcohol
    •
  • Admissions aged 18-20 for alcohol only were more likely to have been referred by the criminal justice system (70 percent) than admissions for alcohol with a secondary drug (56 percent)

  • Twelve percent of admissions aged 18-20 for alcohol only started using alcohol before the age of 13 compared with 23 percent of admissions for alcohol with a secondary drug

According to the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), over 80 percent of youth aged 18-20 have used alcohol in their lifetime.1 In 2001, there were 112,000 admissions to substance abuse treatment among this age group. Of these, 33 percent (36,600 admissions) involved alcohol as a primary substance of abuse-13 percent (15,100) for the abuse of alcohol only and 20 percent (21,500) for the abuse of alcohol in conjunction with other drugs (Figure 1).2

Figure 1. Substance of Abuse among Admissions Aged 18-20: 2001
Figure 1. Substance of Abuse among Admissions Aged 18-20: 2001
Source: 2001 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).


Demographics
Overall, the differences in major demographic characteristics between alcohol only admissions aged 18-20 and those for alcohol with a secondary substance were quite small. Among admissions aged 18-20, admissions for abuse of alcohol only differed little from admissions for primary alcohol abuse with a secondary drug in terms of race/ethnicity. Alcohol only admissions were slightly less likely to be Black (6 percent) than admissions for alcohol with a secondary drug (10 percent). All remaining differences between alcohol only and alcohol with a secondary drug admissions were less than 3 percent.

Almost one quarter (23 percent) of primary alcohol admissions aged 18-20 were female (23 percent of alcohol only admissions; 22 percent of admissions with alcohol with a secondary drug). This was notably lower than the proportion of females among TEDS admissions as a whole in 2001 (30 percent).

Source of Referral
Among primary alcohol admissions aged 18-20, alcohol only admissions were more likely to have been referred by the criminal justice system (70 percent) than admissions for alcohol with a secondary drug (56 percent) (Figure 2). Alcohol only admissions were less likely to be self- or individual referrals (14 percent) than admissions for alcohol with a secondary drug (19 percent).
Figure 2. Source of Referral among Admissions for Primary Alcohol Aged 18-20: 2001
Figure 2. Source of Referral among Admissions for Primary Alcohol Aged 18-20: 2001
Source: 2001 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).


Type of Service
The majority of primary alcohol admissions aged 18-20 were admitted to ambulatory care (80 percent for alcohol only admissions and 74 percent for admissions for alcohol with a secondary drug).3 Alcohol only admissions were less likely to be admitted to residential/rehabilitation services (8 percent) than admissions for alcohol with a secondary drug (17 percent).


Prior Treatments
Alcohol only admissions aged 18-20 were more likely to be first-time admissions (74 percent) than admissions aged 18-20 for alcohol with a secondary drug (56 percent). Seventeen percent of alcohol only admissions had one previous admission compared with 25 percent of admissions for alcohol with a secondary drug. A very small proportion of both groups (2 percent of alcohol only; 3 percent of alcohol with a secondary drug) had five or more previous admissions for substance abuse treatment.

Frequency of Use
Among primary alcohol admissions aged 18-20, the frequency of alcohol use differed between admissions for alcohol only and admissions for alcohol with a secondary drug. Admissions for alcohol only were less likely to have used alcohol daily (10 percent) than admissions for alcohol with a secondary drug (20 percent).

Age at First Use
The average age of first use of alcohol was slightly older (15 years old) for alcohol only admissions than for admissions for alcohol with a secondary drug (14 years old). Alcohol only admissions aged 18-20 were less likely to have started using alcohol prior to the age of 13 than admissions for alcohol with a secondary drug (Figure 3). Twelve percent of alcohol only admissions aged 18-20 started using alcohol before the age of 13 compared with 23 percent of admissions for alcohol with a secondary drug.

Figure 3. Age at First Use of Alcohol among Admissions for Primary Alcohol Aged 18-20: 2001
Figure 3. Age at First Use of Alcohol among Admissions for Primary Alcohol Aged 18-20: 2001
Source: 2001 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).


End Notes
1 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. Results from the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed Tables. Rockville, MD., 2003, table 2.8B.
2 The primary substance of abuse is the main substance reported at the time of admission.
3 Service settings are of three types: ambulatory, residential/rehabilitative, and detoxification. Ambulatory settings include intensive outpatient, non-intensive outpatient, and ambulatory detoxification. Residential/rehabilitative settings include hospital (other than detoxification), short-term (30 days or fewer), and long-term (more than 30 days). Detoxification includes 24-hour hospital inpatient and 24-hour free-standing residential.

The Drug and Alcohol Services Information System (DASIS) is an integrated data system maintained by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). One component of DASIS is the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). TEDS is a compilation of data on the demographic characteristics and substance abuse problems of those admitted for substance abuse treatment. The information comes primarily from facilities that receive some public funding. Information on treatment admissions is routinely collected by State administrative systems and then submitted to SAMHSA in a standard format. Approximately 1.7 million records are included in TEDS each year. TEDS records represent admissions rather than individuals, as a person may be admitted to treatment more than once.

The DASIS Report is prepared by the Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA; Synectics for Management Decisions, Inc., Arlington, Virginia; and RTI, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

Information and data for this issue are based on data reported to TEDS through May 31, 2003.

Access the latest TEDS reports at:
http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/dasis.htm

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http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/SAMHDA.htm

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The DASIS Report is published periodically by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission from SAMHSA. Additional copies of this report or other reports from the Office of Applied Studies are available on-line: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov. Citation of the source is appreciated.

This page was last updated on May 16, 2008.