Substance Use Treatment Need among Adolescents: 2003-2004. The NSDUH Report. Issue 24

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) asks persons aged 12 or older to report on their symptoms of dependence on or abuse of alcohol or illicit drugs. This report presents estimates of treatment, treatment need, and perceived unmet need among youths aged 12 to 17. Estimates are presented separately for alcohol use treatment and illicit drug use treatment. Because some youths have a problem with both alcohol and illicit drugs, there is overlap in these estimates. For simplicity, this report does not provide separate estimates for this population with both problems. All findings presented in this report are annual averages based on combined 2003 and 2004 NSDUH data. In 2003-2004, 6.1 percent of youths aged 12 to 17 were classified as needing treatment for alcohol use and 5.4 percent as needing treatment for illicit drug use. Of the youths who were classified as needing treatment for alcohol use, 7.2 percent received specialty alcohol use treatment; 9.1 percent of the youths who were classified as needing treatment for illicit drug use received specialty illicit drug use treatment. Among the youths who were classified as needing treatment, very few of the youths who had not received treatment perceived an unmet need for treatment (2.2 percent for alcohol use treatment and 3.5 percent for illicit drug use treatment). (Contains 2 tables, 2 figures, and 5 endnotes.)