DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE AMONG TEENS IN HAWAII

Hawaii Teen Drug Rehab

Adolescence (12 to 17 years) is a critical and vulnerable stage of human development, during which males and females experience different biological, social, and cognitive changes. During this life stage, millions of adolescents experiment with substance use and engage in behaviors that can affect healthy neurological and psychological development. Understanding the behavioral health differences between adolescent males and females can help to inform public health policy and build prevention and intervention programs that strategically target the different needs of adolescent males and females.

HIGHLIGHTS: ADOLESCENTS IN HAWAII

• Approximately 13,000 (13.3 percent) adolescents in Hawaii used an illicit drug in the past month; 10,000 (9.6 percent) used marijuana, and 6,000 (5.9 percent) used an illicit drug other than marijuana.

• 13.5 percent of males and 18.6 percent of females currently used alcohol, and 9.9 percent of males and 11.9 percent of females engaged in binge drinking.

• Significantly more females than males were dependent on alcohol (4.6 v. 1.6 percent), were dependent on or abused illicit drugs (7.7 v. 4.4 percent), and were dependent on or abused alcohol or drugs in the past year (11.4 v. 7.5 percent).

• Significantly more females than males needed but did not receive treatment for drug problems in the past year (7.2 v. 4.1 percent).

• Hawaii females were approximately four times as likely as Hawaii males to have experienced a major depressive episode (MDE) in the past year (15.8 v. 3.9 percent)

The data described in the Adolescent Behavioral Health reports derive principally from national surveys conducted by the Office of Applied Studies, a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Sources for all data used in this report appear at the end.

ILICIT SUBSTANCE USE

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. According to the
combined 2003–2006 NSDUH:

• Approximately 13,000 (13.3 percent) of the 101,000 adolescents in Hawaii used an illicit
drug in the past month; 10,000 (9.6 percent) used marijuana, and 6,000 (5.9 percent) used an illicit drug other than marijuana.

• There were no significant differences in illicit substance use between males and females in Hawaii.

The misuse of pain relievers among youth is also a major public concern

• In Hawaii, 2,000 males and 3,000 females used pain relievers nonmedically in the 12 months prior to the interview.

• There were no significant differences in nonmedical pain reliever use between females and males in Hawaii (7.0 v. 4.8 percent).

ADOLESCENT ALCOHOL AND ILLICIT DRUG DEPENDENCE OR ABUSE IN HAWAII

According to the 2003–2006 NSDUH:

• Nationwide nearly 1.5 million adolescents were dependent on or abused alcohol in the past year and more than 1.2 million adolescents were dependent or abused illicit drugs.

• Overall, the rates of past-year abuse or dependence on alcohol were significantly higher for females than males (6.0 v. 5.4 percent), but rates of past-year abuse or dependence on illicit drugs were similar between males and females.

• In Hawaii, rates of alcohol and drug dependence or abuse were similar between males and females; 10,000 males and 9,000 females abused or were dependent on alcohol or drugs in the past year.

ADOLESCENT SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT IN HAWAII

State treatment data for substance use disorders are derived from two primary sources:
(1) National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS),6 an annual 1-day census of clients in treatment and (2) the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS),7 which provides information on annual treatment admissions.

According to the 2006 N-SSATS survey:

• Hawaii showed a 1-day total of 3,787 clients in treatment, the majority of whom (3,284 or
86.7 percent) were in outpatient treatment. Of the total number of clients in treatment on this date, 864 (22.8 percent) were under the age of 18.

According to 2003–2006 TEDS data:

• Adolescent males accounted for 54.5 percent (3,673) of the 6,734 adolescent substance
abuse admissions.

• Of the total male admissions, 21.6 percent were drugs only, 67.3 percent were alcohol and
drugs, and 9.7 percent were alcohol only.

• Of the adolescent female admissions, 17 percent were drugs only, 68.9 percent were alcohol and drugs, and 12.5 percent were alcohol only.

Among adolescent admissions, marijuana and alcohol were the most prevalent substances of abuse.

• Of the total male admissions, 77 percent (2,827) reported alcohol use and 86.5 percent
(3,178) reported marijuana use.

• Of the total female admissions, 81.4 percent (2,493) reported alcohol use and 80.5 percent
(2,465) reported marijuana use.

• Further, 8.4 percent of male admissions (308) and 14.2 percent (436) of female admissions
reported methamphetamine use. Similarly, 4.6 percent of males (168) and 5.5 percent (169)
of females reported cocaine use.

UNMET NEED FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT IN HAWAII

NSDUH 2003–2006 estimates that more than 1.16 million adolescents needed but did not
receive treatment for illicit drug problems and more than 1.3 million needed but did not receive treatment for alcohol problems. NSDUH defines “unmet treatment need” as an individual who meets the criteria for abuse of or dependence on illicit drugs or alcohol according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV), but who has not received specialty treatment for that problem in the past year.

In 2003–2006:

• Significantly more females than males in Hawaii needed but did not receive treatment for
drug problems in the past year (7.2 v. 4.1 percent).

• 2,000 males and 4,000 females in Hawaii needed but did not receive treatment for drug
problems in the past year.

• 4,000 females and 2,000 males needed but did not receive treatment for alcohol problems .

Sources:
Facility Data: National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS)–2006 is available at: http://www.dasis.samhsa.gov.

Center for Mental Health Services Uniform Reporting System Output Tables 2006 is available at: http://mentalhealth.samhsa. gov/cmhs/MentalHealthStatistics/URS2006.asp

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