Attachments D, R

2017 NSDUH, Supporting Statement
Attachment D – Question & Answer Brochure

Answers

If you have more questions
about NSDUH, please call
1-800-848-4079
or visit our Web site at
http://nsduhweb.rti.org

For more information on SAMHSA or
RTI International, contact:

to your questions

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) provides up-todate information on alcohol, tobacco, and drug use, mental health and
other health-related issues in the United States. NSDUH is directed by the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA),
part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
The study is being conducted by RTI International, a nonprofit research
organization.

National Survey
on Drug Use
and Health

NSDUH National Study Director
SAMHSA
Center for Behavioral Health
Statistics and Quality
5600 Fishers Lane, Room 15E09B
Rockville, MD 20857
www.samhsa.gov
NSDUH National Field Director
RTI International
3040 Cornwallis Road
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
www.rti.org

RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute.

v. 2.16

What Is the National Survey on
Drug Use and Health?

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration. Conducted by RTI International.

NSDUH began in 1971 and is conducted every year. This year almost
70,000 people from across the United States will be interviewed for this
important study.
Information from NSDUH is used to support prevention and treatment
programs, monitor substance use trends, estimate the need for treatment
facilities and assist with the creation of government policy.

Answers to Your Important Questions about the National Survey on Drug Use and Health
Why Should I Participate?
You are important! Your household was one
of only a few in this area selected for this
study, and no other household or person
can take your place.
Every person who is chosen and completes
the full interview will receive $30 in cash at
the end of the interview in appreciation for
their help.
If chosen for an interview, you will represent
the residents of your community and help us
gather important information that is needed
to make sound policy decisions.
Your participation also provides vital
information to researchers and local, state
and federal agencies to design education,
treatment and prevention programs and
receive funding to support these efforts.

What if I Do Not Smoke, Drink
or Use Drugs?
In order to know the percentage of people
who smoke, drink or use drugs, we also
need to know how many people do not.

The responses of people who do not use
these substances are just as important as the
responses of people who do.

All information collected for this study will be
kept confidential and used only for statistical
purposes, as required by federal law – the
Confidential Information Protection and
Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA).

While some questions ask about drug
knowledge and experience, other questions
ask about a number of health-related topics
relevant for all people. You do not need to
know anything about drugs to answer the
questions.

What Is the Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services
Administration?

How Was I Chosen?
Household addresses, not specific people,
are randomly selected through scientific
methods. Once a household has been
selected, it cannot be replaced for any
reason. This assures that NSDUH accurately
represents the many different types of
people in the United States.
A professional RTI interviewer will visit your
household to ask several general questions
that only take a few minutes to answer.
Afterwards, one or possibly two members of
your household may be asked to complete
the full interview. It is possible that no one
in your household will be chosen for the
interview.

Your household has been chosen at random, but no one
else can take your place. Your participation matters!

What Will Happen During the
Interview?
An interviewer will conduct the interview
with each selected person using a laptop
computer. No prior computer skills are
necessary.
Participants will answer most of the
interview questions in private, entering their
responses directly into the computer. For
other questions, the interviewer will read the
questions aloud and enter the participant’s
responses into the computer.
The interview takes about one hour to
complete. Persons who complete the full
interview will receive $30 at the end of the
interview as a token of our appreciation.

SAMHSA is an agency in the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
SAMHSA was created to improve the lives
of people with or at risk for mental and
substance use disorders.
NSDUH is used to help this mission by
gathering data on substance use, problems
related to substance use, and mental health
problems in the United States. The numbers
of people who use various substances, or
have problems related to substance use or
mental health, are important for planning
treatment and prevention services.
SAMHSA selects a qualified survey research
organization to administer NSDUH.
RTI International, a nonprofit research
organization, is under contract with SAMHSA
to conduct NSDUH.

2017 NSDUH, Supporting Statement
Attachment R – NSDUH Highlights and
Newspaper Articles

SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS from the
2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health
Past Month Cigarette Use among People Aged 12 or Older, by
Age Group: Percentages, 2002 - 2014
Tobacco Use


An estimated 66.9 million Americans
reported current use (during the past
month) of a tobacco product in
2014, which is 25.2 percent of the
population aged 12 and older.
About 55.2 million (20.8 percent)
smoked cigarettes.



The graph to the right illustrates
past month cigarette use among
people age 12 or older.

+

Difference between this estimate and the 2014 estimate is statistically significant at the .05 level.

Alcohol Use
Past Month Alcohol Use among People Aged 12 or Older,
by Age Group: Percentages, 2002 - 2014

+ Difference between this estimate and the 2014 estimate is statistically significant at the .05 level.



Slightly more than half of all
Americans age 12 or older, 52.7
percent or an estimated 139.7
million persons, were current
drinkers in the 2014 survey, which
is similar to the 136.9 million
persons (52.2 percent) reported in
2013. The graph on the left
displays past month alcohol use by
age group.



Although consumption of alcoholic
beverages is illegal for those under
21 years of age, 22.8 percent of
this age group (8.7 million) were
current drinkers in 2014.

Illicit Drug Use


An estimated 27.0 million Americans were current users of illicit drugs in 2014, meaning
they used an illicit drug at least once during the 30 days prior to the interview. This
estimate represents 10.2 percent of the population 12 years old or older.



Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug, with an estimated 22.2 million current
users, or 8.4 percent of the population 12 years old or older, higher than the 2013 rate of
7.5 percent. In 2014, an estimated 6.5 million (2.5 percent) used prescription-type
psychotherapeutic drugs nonmedically in the past month which is similar to the 2013
estimate of 2.5 percent.

Major Depressive Episode in the Past Year among Adults Aged 18 or
Older, by Age Group: Percentages, 2005 - 2014
Mental Health


In 2014, an estimated
15.7 million adults, or
6.6 percent of the
population aged 18 or
older, had at least one
major depressive episode
(MDE) in the past 12
months. Among adults,
the percentage having
MDE in the past year
varied by age, as shown
in the graph to the right.
+



+ Difference between this estimate and the 2014 estimate is statistically significant at the .05 level.

Adolescents aged 12 to 17 with past year MDE were more likely than those without MDE to
have used an illicit drug in the past year (33.0 vs. 15.2 percent). Youths with past year MDE
were more likely to be users of illicit substances, as shown in the graph below.
Past Year Illicit Drug Use among Youths Aged 12 to 17, by Past Year Major Depressive Episode:
Percentages, 2014

Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. (2015). Behavioral health trends in the United States: Results from the
2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (HHS Publication No. SMA 15-4927, NSDUH Series H-50).

Recent articles about the
National Survey on Drug Use and Health
From THE BOSTON GLOBE, November 3, 2015 (online)

Depressive episodes on rise among teens, many not being
treated, report says
By AMI ALBERNAZ

Mood swings, distractibility, sleeping until noon: These
conditions come with the territory of being a teen. In some
cases, though, they can be signs of something more
serious. A recent national report found that rates of major
depressive episodes among teens have risen in recent
years, and many of those affected are not receiving
treatment.
The September report from the Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration found that in 2014,
11.4 percent of kids ages 12-17 had experienced a major
depressive episode during the previous year. This
percentage was somewhat higher than at any other time
since 2004, the first year the data was collected. Rates for
previous years ranged from 7.9 to 10.7 in 2013.
“It’s a real concern that high numbers of young people are
experiencing major depressive episodes, whether the
figure is 8, 9, or 11 percent,” said Gary Blau, chief of
SAMHSA’s child, adolescent, and family branch. “When
you look at why this is happening and what some of the
factors may be, we only need to look at today’s world and
the amount of pressures teenagers face : Bullying, issues
of belonging, academic pressures . . . these factors can lead
to enormous stress.”
The report was based on survey data from a nationally
representative sample of more than 17,000 12- to 17-yearolds. Teens met the criteria for a major depressive episode
if they had felt depressed or lost interest or pleasure in
daily activities for a period of two weeks or longer, and
had experienced additional symptoms such as low selfworth or trouble eating, sleeping, or concentrating.
Nearly three-quarters of the teens meeting the criteria
reported severe impairment in a key area of their lives,
such as school, social life, or relationships with family
members. Girls were three times as likely as boys to have
had a depressive episode — 17.3 percent vs. 5.7 percent.
Biological differences and societal pressures may play a
role in this, Blau said, as might a greater tendency among
girls to discuss feelings.

One-third of teens who had experienced a major
depressive episode during the past year had also used
illicit drugs in that time frame, compared with 15.2
percent of nondepressed teens. Teens who had been
depressed were also somewhat more likely to smoke
cigarettes daily (1.6 percent vs. 1.1 percent) and to have
drunk heavily within the past month (1.8 percent vs. 0.9
percent).
A minority of teens meeting the criteria for a major
depressive episode — 41.2 percent — received
treatment. Fear of discrimination, cost, and lack of
access are likely to prevent some who could benefit
from treatment from seeking help, Blau said. Among
SAMHSA’s initiatives, he noted, is working on
telepsychiatry programs that could improve access to
mental health services, particularly in remote areas.
“It’s also important for people to know that they are not
alone, and that it’s OK to talk about [depression] and
seek help,” Blau said. “There are practices out there,
such as cognitive behavioral therapy, that have been
proven to work. Treatment can help people get better.”
Parents, of course, can play an important role. Parents
should check in if they notice certain changes in their
kids, said Dr. Steven Schlozman, a child psychiatrist and
associate director of The Clay Center for Young Healthy
Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital.
“Parents might feel uncomfortable asking things like
‘You don’t seem to be yourself, is everything OK?,’
particularly when sullenness at times is a normal part of
development,” he said. “But if you see a corresponding
behavior such as loss of interest in things they
previously enjoyed, you don’t want to let it pass. Check
in and say you’ve noticed the change.”
Seeing a pediatrician can be a good first step for
diagnosing depression and getting treatment,
Schlozman added. Through the Massachusetts Child
Psychiatry Access Project, a statewide program,
primary-care doctors can connect with child
psychiatrists and other specialists to get help in
diagnosing and treating mental health conditions.
Pediatricians can get advice on steps to take, or they can
refer children for a mental health consultation.
Copyright © 2015 Ami Albernaz. Reprinted with Permission.

Article available online at: www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2015/11/03/report-depressive-episodesrise-among-teens-many-not-being-treated/KQbN3efvb3p3tB3NNDepzM/story.html