The prevalence of substance use in child welfare and general population eighth graders in the United States

Abstract

Background: Early substance use is an established risk factor for substance abuse and dependence. Objective: The current study sought to examine whether child welfare-involved eighth graders have higher rates of early substance use than general population eighth graders. Data from the first National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) were analyzed to assess the prevalence of self-reported substance use, including alcohol, marijuana, and inhalant use in child welfare-involved eighth graders (N = 896). These figures were compared to general eighth grade student population estimates from the Monitoring the Future Study (N = 16,900) using 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Finally, regression analyses were conducted to examine demographic predictors (i.e., age, gender, race/ethnicity, and out-of-home placement) of substance use among child welfare eighth graders. Results: Results indicated comparable or lower incidence of substances among child welfare eighth graders relative to the general population, but higher past 30-day inhalant use among child welfare youth in out-of-home placement (17.1%, 95% CI: 6.0%, 40.2%) than the general population (4.2%, 95% CI: 3.7%, 4.7%). Out-of-home placement was associated with higher inhalant use (lifetime β = .659, p = .034; 30-day β = .763, p = .040) and alcohol use (lifetime β = .415, p = .028). Conclusions/Importance: These findings imply the need for screening and prevention education about substance use in child welfare populations, particularly in regards to inhalant use.

Keywords:

• Substance use
• prevalence
• inhalants
• alcohol
• marijuana
• child protective services

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a grant from the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families: Children’s Bureau 90CA1817-01-00. The data in this manuscript publication were made available by the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Neither the collector of the original data, the funding agency, nor the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect bears any responsibility for the analyses or interpretations presented here. Portions of this study were published as part of a doctoral dissertation.