Adolescent Substance Abuse and Mental Health: Problem Co-Occurrence and Access to Services

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify factors associated with adolescent alcohol or drug (AOD) abuse/dependence, mental health and co-occurring problems, as well as factors associated with access to treatment. This is a secondary analysis of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) 2000. The 12-month prevalence rate of adolescents with only mental health problems was 10.8%, 5.1% had AOD abuse/dependence only, and 2.7% had co-occurring problems. Approximately 15% of youths reported receiving behavioral health treatment in the past 12 months. Several factors associated with having behavioral health problems and receiving treatment are presented.

KEYWORDS:

• adolescent
• epidemiology
• mental health
• substance abuse

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA019732) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (OA00078-01).

Notes

Notes. MH = mental health; SA = substance abuse; AOR = adjusted odds ratios; CI = confidence interval; ref. = reference group.

^a The categories No SA or MH (reference group), MH, SA, and MH & SA dependent are mutually exclusive categories based on past-year self-report data.

Notes. MH = mental health; SA = substance abuse; AOR = adjusted odds ratios; CI = confidence interval; ref. = reference group.

^a The categories No SA or MH (reference group), MH, SA, and MH & SA treatment are mutually exclusive categories based on past-year self-report data.